Who's the Latino podcast listener, really?

Comparing the latest Edison Research Latino Podcast Report to see the audience better.

Podcast growth demands attention. 🔭 Podcasting a.) heavily influences public media, and b.) collects the sort of data that helps we concerned about diversity and a changing industry to make the strongest case.

So, when Edison Research’s annual study into Latina/o/e/x audiences and podcasting comes out, it’s news you should pay attention to.

Edison’s Gabriel Soto (a.k.a. the lead on and brains behind this research) talked about this study in a past OIGO. ⏪ As he points out, Hispanic and Black Americans are already making an impact on the growth of podcasting and other media in the audio space. The Latino Podcast Listener Report helps you see it more clearly.

My intention isn't just to recommend you read it and summarize some of its findings. I’d also like to contrast these numbers against other research – including Pew, Nielsen and Jacobs – as well as Hispanic population trends. 🔍

Demos. The survey of 2,500 respondents to the latest Edison Research report turned out this way:

• U.S. born: 70 percent of respondents

• Outside the U.S.: 30 percent

This figure roughly aligns with the nation’s Hispanic makeup. Other demographic data in the Latino Podcast Listener Report, such religious affiliation, may be entirely different from the Latina/o/e/x population. This is most evident in LGBT identification; 17 percent of Edison’s respondents said they were part of this community, though it’s a far larger figure than the rest of the Hispanic population.

Here’s what Edison further reflects in its listener profile:

• Percentage of listeners, 18-34: 47 percent

• Percentage of listeners, 35-54: 42 percent

• Percentage of listeners, 55+: 11 percent

Where do these numbers land as far as the average podcast audience overall? Close. Edison’s Infinite Dial shares that 50 percent of monthly podcast listeners are aged 12-34, while 43 percent are 35-54 years of age.

Listening. Here’s what Edison notes in the 2022 report:

• Latinos who have ever listened to a podcast that was mostly in English: 51 percent

• Latinos who have ever listened to a podcast that was mostly in Spanish: 33 percent

While this is an encouraging figure, the operative word is ever. Take it further. The number who listened in the last month plummets to 34 percent and then 27 percent who have listened to a podcast in the last week. 👎🏽

Compare these figures to the Edison/NPR Spoken Word Audio Report released last fall. 🔉 Querying 1,000 people, the study notes 57 percent have listened to a podcast. Also on background, NPR’s podcast report in 2021 notes weekly podcast listenership for NPR offerings declined Q4 2021 vs. 2020. (it’s improved since.)

Additionally, one must wonder how listening may be shaped in 2023 as people's memories of the pandemic fade. Both Edison and Nielsen shared that Hispanics being home drove podcast interest. 🏠 Monthly listenership declined in the latest Latino study and the Infinite Dial. Jacobs Media has done some effective comparisons of audience habits since the pandemic’s peak.

Genres. Although 44 percent of Hispanic respondents say they follow national news, 42 percent say they track local news “very closely,” and 50 percent are “very interested” in local news podcasts highlighting Latino stories, news was not the leading genre. Comedy and music podcasts outpaced virtually every format in the Edison inquiry, handily beating podcasts on politics and national news. 💭

Nielsen’s findings were a little different. Let’s compare what's working for audiences.

Note where the surveys diverge considerably is in news interest; Nielsen suggests Hispanic audiences check out news podcasts second to comedy podcasts.

Lastly, Nielsen reflects that Asian, Black and Latino Americans exhibit diverging podcast interests.

Reach versus radio. Safe to say, Nielsen and Edison agree this isn’t particularly close, especially for Latina/o/e/x listeners. 📻 Radio is frequented by the vast majority of the Hispanic population. Jacobs Media’s TechSurvey puts the podcast/radio contrast in context (see 13:12 of this webinar). Video, Edison and Nielsen note, is making inroads faster than public media may think. LWC Studios highlights the video data.

A key point Jose Manuel De Urquidi brings up is something radio has known for a while: celebrity sells in audio. Edison notes podcast interest grows when well-known guests or hosts take the microphone. This may seem ridiculous to you — Hot Pod summed it up as "give Shakira a podcast" — but it may also inspire new public media ideas.

In 2017, people of color who listened to podcasts started to generate much attention. Since then, the number of diverse media makers and podcasters has grown a lot. 📊 These numbers are going up for a simple reason. As the Edison report says, people are listening to podcasts because they want to be exposed to new ideas and educational experiences. With this awareness, the business side is embracing diversity, too. Post-covid, Hispanic audience interest will be a figure to watch. 🟢

La próxima ⌛

Back to newsletters every two weeks. I hope you had a nice summer! ☀️

The next OIGO is in your inbox September 23. If you want to read about work happening in public media and what’s being learned, Natalie Van Hoozer has many insights. Her efforts with Factchequeado, SembraMedia and KUNR are outstanding. We will share takeaways from her translation work, Spanish-language audience needs, and what KUNR has learned about how to appeal to the community. It’s an extensive conversation worth all your attention.

I’m always open to your tips. Hit reply or reach me on Twitter or LinkedIn.

-- Ernesto

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Cafecito: stories to discuss ☕

• Fresh research from the American Press Institute on Gen Z and millennial news audience habits is probably familiar to you. Check page 33 for respondents’ views on race and news. A full 45 percent feel coverage of Hispanics is only slightly or not at all accurate.

• Spanish-language radio is one of the few formats to see (modest) growth over the last year. Classic hits and Christian music are the other formats that saw growth in the number of stations in the U.S. Inside Radio has more.

• A 90-minute biographical documentary on author Julia Alvarez has received over half a million in funding. Current has the story.

• Journalism more oriented toward diverse experiences in communities and less focused on conflict might be better suited to audiences of color, according to a new report by Trusting News.

• A partnership between NPR and Futuro Studios will see Jasmine Garsd host a new dual-language podcast.

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El radar: try this 📡

• Investigate ag burning. Many rural residents, particularly Hispanics, were adversely affected by agricultural burning. KVPR covered this practice of farmers torching trees and other materials that are no longer deemed usable.

• ¿Quieres barbacoa? Rhode Island’s Latino Public Radio partnered with GoLocal for Barbacoa Politica, a forum where candidates for local office were interviewed about their campaigns.

• Ask about Spanish-language news gaps. The Colorado News Collaborative is facilitating a survey on this. A partnership of eight news organizations is exploring the needs and interests of the Hispanic population in this region.

• Check on your state’s Chilean communities. On Sunday, Chileans rejected a rewrite of the nation’s constitution. The proposed document would have replaced the Pinochet era one. There were strong feelings in every province of the country, and Chilean transplants in your state may also have views about it.

• Seek out local nonprofits talking with youth of color about the environment. You may have seen this interview with Rona Kobell and Donzell Brown Jr. of the Environmental Justice Journalism Initiative. Youth of color are invited to share their perspectives on climate change and related issues through the EJJI initiative. I suspect your organization can find area nonprofits doing similar outreach.

🥤 You can buy me a coffee if you’d like to support the newsletter.