Apple Podcasts no longer king as competitors gain ground
A new study has found that Apple Podcasts faces a significant decline as YouTube and Spotify solidify themselves in the space.
Apple Podcasts
There was a time when Apple Podcasts was the place to listen to podcasts, controlling 27% of the market as recently as March 2021. But now that the market has expanded with other streaming platforms, it seems that Apple Podcasts is becoming somewhat of a ghost town.
In October 2021, Spotify overtook Apple as the top US podcast platform, marking the first time the Cupertino tech giant had been dethroned in the podcast space. Spotify had managed to snag 24% of the podcast market, while Apple clung to 21%.
Three years later, YouTube has become the primary way Americans get their podcasts. According to Cumulus Media and Signal Hill, an impressive 31% of podcast listeners now get their podcasts on YouTube. In fact, 47% of podcast listeners between the ages of 18-34 primarily listen to their podcasts on YouTube.
Spotify now holds 21% of listenership, with 47% of that base falling between the ages of 18 and 24.
Apple has a slipping grip on 12% of the market. Unlike YouTube and Spotify, Apple holds a majority of listeners in the 35-49 age bracket.
Apple is still immensely popular with what Cumulus Media and Signal Hill call "Postcast Pioneers," or people who began listening to podcasts four or more years ago. Newcomers, however, seem to strongly prefer YouTube.
And, regardless of when a listener began listening to podcasts, "heavy users" -- those who listen to more than six hours of podcasts a week -- seem to prefer YouTube over all other platforms.
There are a number of reasons for Apple's decline. One major reason is the fact that Apple Podcasts hasn't been available on Windows or Android devices, limiting its reach. However, in mid-August, Apple made its podcast library available online.
Still, it may not be enough. As it turns out, one of the biggest selling points for YouTube is video podcasts, which have boomed in popularity over the past few years. The study shows that nearly 10% of weekly podcast listeners exclusively watch video podcasts. While Apple Podcasts has supported video for nearly two decades, the platform has never heavily publicized the feature.
YouTube is also popular with those who listen on laptop and desktop platforms. It also offers a comment section, which 18% of its listeners say is a driving reason to use it over others. Additionally, many users point out that YouTube is their one-stop shop for information and entertainment.
While Apple's grip may be slipping on the podcast market, the company continues to innovate the platform. In March 2024, Apple added auto-generated transcripts in its mobile Apple Podcasts app.
Read on AppleInsider
Comments
Nutshell version
Reportedly Apple offering podcasts doesn't help sell more hardware, so they have no incentive to invest in them.
EDIT: PED agrees.
https://www.ped30.com/2024/08/23/apple-podcast-lost-way/
And I like listening to podcasts, much like I enjoy reading media through RSS/Feedly/NetNewsWire, because I hate being completely dependent upon an algorithm, content blocking, etc. If I'm following a certain content producer, I want to make sure I have access to EVERYTHING new they produce, as they publish it, with no weird third-party curatorial shenanigans.
Let them try dropping the platform and associated apps… There would be a mutiny and, unlike Google, a company known to drop popular services left and right, Apple is no stranger to supporting old stuff…
For instance, it took them YEARS to drop their also seemingly useless iTunes movie trailers website and app (believe it or not, they stayed live until around a year ago), and they only did so because they had a replacement in their Apple TV app and platform.
And I know, it sounds weird because they stop supporting older Mac and iPhone hardware all the time, but yeah, it's a fact. Case in point: my iPod 3G from 2004 still works and is fully supported by macOS Sonoma. Yeah, much like said website would be if it lasted a bit more, it's a 20-year-old peripheral. And I can still sync podcasts to it if I want. What a concept!
They need to update and make the user experience better.
There are apps in the App Store that would allow me to steal subscription content instead of pay for ( I guarantee without Apple's blessings, but somehow they sneak in anyway), and some users are fine with that. I'm not. If a service I want requires a subscription, or to avoid ads I need to, then I subscribe or do without.
I hate having things stolen from me, whether physical stuff or intellectual (ie design work). I won't do that to others, but I understand there are those who feel entitled and have no such qualms.
I completely get that if you're interested in a video podcast you will probably be using YouTube, and I've given a few of those a try, but ... it's still mostly a pair or handful of people sitting around microphones talking, to say the video portion is not compelling would be an understatement.