For podcasting, smart TVs are delivering on the lost promise of smart speakers.

Essentially, that promise was a simple, inexpensive appliance that would let people listen to podcasts throughout their home, without being tethered to a smartphone, headphones, or computer. 

But, today, we’ve seen the smart TV eclipse the smart speaker for podcast consumption in the US, Canada, and now, the UK. 

In the new Signal Hill Insights Pulse Report: Podcasts in the Living Room UK, conducted in partnership with FlightStory, we find that 45% of monthly podcast consumers in the UK say they’ve used a smart TV for podcasts in the last month, much higher than the 27% who used a smart speaker. This makes smart TVs the second most-used device for podcasts in the UK, narrowly ahead of computers, used by 44%. 

Putting Our Finger on Podcasting’s Pulse: Why Research Smart TVs?

We first saw the smart TV trend emerge a year ago, with the Spring 2025 edition of the Cumulus Media / Signal Hill Insights Podcast Download. At that time, smart TVs had edged into the #2 spot among the smaller and more engaged segment of weekly podcast consumers in the US. 31% said they used one in the last month.

In the Canadian Podcast Listener we ask the question a little differently, having respondents tell us what percentage of podcast time is spent with each device. Even so, in the 2025 report smart TVs claim the #3 spot there, used for 6% of podcast time, which comes in behind 17% for computers. 

Seeing this, we really wanted to understand how the trend was developing across the pond. One big reason is that the UK is home to some of the most popular English-language video podcasts like The Rest is Politics and Diary of the CEO, which rank highly at home and abroad. That’s why we partnered with Flightstory, the intensely data-driven team behind DOAC, to conduct this first study in our new Pulse Report series, Podcasts in the Living Room, UK. The Pulse Report is a new series of timely, global research studies partnering with leaders in audio and podcasting to dig into hot-button issues and emerging trends. 

Podcasts in the Living Room is the first nationally representative research study in the UK exclusively dedicated to investigating video podcast consumption, in which we surveyed 1,003 monthly podcast consumers, March 3 – 9, 2026. 

Video Podcasts Are Becoming Prime Time TV

Though not bowled over, I have to admit I was a bit surprised when I saw that nearly half of UK podcast consumers are using smart TVs. At 45% that’s 14% more UK consumers using them than the 31% of more leaned-in weekly consumers in the US. But we didn’t only look at devices, we wanted to fill out the picture with a deeper dive into hows and whys of video podcast watching.

The most illuminating thread is the difference between when people choose to watch or listen to podcasts. Veteran podcast listeners often think of them as something to accompany a commute, workout or chores. Since much of that weekday activity happens around the morning and afternoon “drive time,” it’s often thought those are peak podcast time too.

Our findings challenge these assumptions.

Overall, audio podcast listening is somewhat evenly spread throughout the weekday from  6 AM to 11 PM. But the time when the most consumers are listening to podcasts is actually prime time, 7 – 11 PM, when 37% of podcast listeners say that’s when they’re tuned in. By comparison 29% listen during morning commute, and 33% in the evening commute. 

The situation for watching video podcasts is even more concentrated.

More than half, 54%, of video podcast viewers are watching their podcasts in prime time. That far outpaces even the late afternoon commute, 4 – 7 PM, when 31% are watching.

When we look at these trends together – smart TV use and evening podcast viewing – the story gets clearer: video podcasts are taking over the living room and turning into prime time TV.

Video Podcasts Are Replacing Other Video, Not Audio Podcasts

Further underlying how video podcasts are becoming prime time TV, we asked viewers what their video podcast time is replacing. A majority (55%) said it’s replacing linear TV and movies, and 44% said it’s replacing social media scrolling and social video like Instagram Reels and TikTok. Only a very small minority of 15% said video podcasts are replacing their audio podcast listening time. 

This also helps us understand the utility behind Netflix’s and Tubi’s recent moves to bring podcasts to on-demand and FAST streaming. It seems like podcasts are nibbling at their share of the pie.

These findings should also provide some relief to audio-first podcasters who might worry that they need to embrace video now or risk being left behind. Rather than stealing slices from audio podcasts, video podcasting is growing the pie. 

Doubt the Audience at Your Own Peril

I had just received the results of this study when I attended Podcast Movement Evolutions and SXSW this past March. In show floor conversations I casually mentioned that we’d just researched Smart TV use for podcasts, and, without letting the cat out of the bag, let folks know they might be surprised at the results.

People’s reactions made me flash back to April 2023. 

That’s when we first saw in the Podcast Download that YouTube had definitively become the most used podcast platform in the US among weekly podcast consumers, by a wide 12-point margin over Spotify. When we shared this finding, the push-back I heard back then was remarkable. By no means was it universal, but many folks inside the industry told me things like, “Those people in the survey don’t know what they’re watching. They’re watching MrBeast and calling it a podcast.”

The tenor of skeptical remarks about smart TVs at SXSW 2026 was a little more low key, but just as quizzical. It seemed folks couldn’t quite wrap their heads around the behaviour. Simply put, they, themselves, don’t watch podcasts on TV, and they don’t really know anyone who does. So it’s a head-scratcher to understand just who is watching their podcasts on TV, and why.

The reason why I bring up my 2023 flashback is because, in retrospect, it’s clear we were detecting the leading edge of what’s become an industry-changing trend. But, please don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying, “told ya so.”

We’re just researchers here. And while we’re responsible for designing and running responsible surveys, we don’t pre-ordain the results. The findings come from real people telling us what they like, what they do, and why they do it.

Also, the YouTube trend had been building steam for years, incrementally gaining share as Apple Podcasts lost share, vying with Spotify in our two 2022 studies. If we had seen YouTube jump to #1 out of nowhere we would have been suspicious. But the clear multi-year upward trend in YouTube’s share gave us confidence that we didn’t have a spurious result. 

Similarly, the fact that we’re seeing increased use of Smart TVs for podcasts in Canada and the U.S. gives us confidence that we’re reading the trend correctly in the UK.

I want to paraphrase my friend Tom Webster, who has been steadfast in repeating some sage advice: don’t doubt the audience. They’re savvy, and they know what they want.

Even if the audience’s behaviour doesn’t match your own, that doesn’t mean they don’t know what they’re doing. Rather, it’s wise to take note, understand, and strategize. Denial is not a safe option. 

The Smart TV Opportunity for Podcasts

Smart TVs are an opportunity for podcasts. As one of the least expensive and easy-to-use smart devices in the home, the smart TV makes podcasts even more accessible to more members of the household. With a nearly ubiquitous place in shared spaces – living rooms, bedrooms, kitchens, dens and the like – the device also encourages co-viewing and co-listening. 

But it bears repeating: video podcasts on smart TVs are not cannibalising audio podcast listening. They’re growing podcasting’s share of audience time by replacing other video consumption. 

Get our full report to get the full reports, digging into the co-viewing trend, which age groups are more tuned in to podcasts on smart TVs, what consumers most value on-screen, and how the smart TV experience compares to watching on smartphones.