Paul Riismandel
The first smart speaker – the Amazon Echo – debuted a little more than a decade ago. I remember hearing quite a bit of excitement in the podcasting community because many saw these new speakers as a boon for the medium. By 2021 the devices were in a third of US households, fueling more enthusiasm. In 2022 Edison Research and NPR teamed up for the third edition of “The Smart Audio Report,” which found 47% of those with a smart speaker purchased it, in part, to listen to podcasts.
That was also the last edition of the report. And, today, we don’t hear so much about them.
What Happened to Smart Speakers?
Since then, adoption has pretty much plateaued, increasing by only two points – from 33% to 35% of Americans aged 12+ – from 2021 to 2025, according to Edison’s Infinite Dial.
The use of smart speakers for podcasts has actually declined in the past five years.
Looking at the Cumulus Media / Signal Hill Insights Download survey, it turns out 2021 was a high water mark for smart speakers and podcasts. In Spring of that year nearly a third of weekly podcast consumers (31%) said they used a smart speaker to listen, bested only by smartphones and laptop computers. Usehas now declined 11 points, hitting just 20% in Spring 2025.
While smart speaker growth has stalled – and fewer podcast consumers say they’re using them to listen – monthly podcast consumption continues to climb, growing its share 14 points to 55% of Americans 12+. It sure doesn’t seem like smart speakers bear much responsibility for that.
Smart TVs Claiming More Household AND Podcast Share
One undeniable factor contributing to podcasting’s growth is the rise of video podcasts. That’s what appears to be behind one of the more notable findings in this Spring’s Download study: 32% of weekly podcast consumers use a smart TV for their podcasts. That’s ahead of laptops and smart speakers, and second only to smartphones.
Correlated with this is the increase in smart TV ownership. Today, 82% of television households own one, up from 70% in 2021, according to Hub Entertainment Research. With TV apps from the likes of Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, SiriusXM and Spotify there are plenty of ways to consume podcasts on smart TV. But, of course, the one that stands out is YouTube.
In the Spring Download we learned that 39% of weekly podcast consumers use YouTube most often. Not surprisingly, this group of YouTube Primaries is more likely to use a smart TV for podcasts – 41% say they do.
That’s not a big difference over the average. But things get more interesting when we look at Spotify and Apple Podcasts Primaries. Only 23% of either of these groups consume podcasts on smart TVs. Even though Spotify has TV apps, more Spotify Primaries use laptops (31%) and a quarter still use smart speakers.
Are Smart TV Primaries the Leading Edge of Podcast Consumption?
Looking at the Podcast Landscape 2024 study, Sounds Profitable’s Tom Webster zoomed in on those who say they use their TVs most often for podcasts, calling them “Smart TV Primaries.” Noting that the vast majority expect a podcast to be audio or video, he observes Smart TV Primaries, “aren’t necessarily video absolutists. Rather, they’re pragmatists who use whatever screen happens to be in front of them at the time.” Increasingly, I’ll add, those screens are smart TVs, as the sets approach the smartphone’s level of ubiquity.
In a recent post, I made it clear that YouTube is not dominating podcasting, because it’s used most often by only a minority of podcast consumers. But the picture changes radically with the Podcast Landscape’s Smart TV Primaries. A super-majority of 69% use YouTube most often, with #2 Spotify trailing far behind as the top choice of just 7%.
At this point, as we see in the Spring Download, only a third of weekly podcast consumers currently use smart TVs for podcasts. And there’s no reason to think smart TVs are going to overtake smartphones as the most used podcast device. But it would be reasonable to expecttheir numbers will grow. The question is: can other apps grow with them?
Does “Wherever You Find Your Podcasts” Include Smart TVs?
At the turn of the decade broadcasters and podcasters started training listeners how to get their content on smart speakers. Looks like it may be time to instruct them on how to get podcasts on smart TVs.
By the same logic, it seems wise to move on from the near-standard tagline to find your show, “wherever you get your podcasts.” Though it’s more work – and words – you might consider again telling them what apps and devices you recommend, to be sure you are actually found, where you want to be found.
Let’s face it, with voice assistants now included on even inexpensive smart TVs, they’ve effectively become smart speakers. Press a button and say, “Severance,” “White Lotus,” or “Department Q,” to find the latest hot series. From the latest Download we learned that nearly half of weekly podcast consumers are watching their podcasts instead of TV. So, shouldn’t they ask their TVs for, “This Past Weekend,” “The Daily,” or “Good Hang?”
Having podcasts accessible on more devices in the home seems like a win for the industry. But it’s also a challenge not to remain passive in the face of change.
