Podcast Listening in 2026: Audio, Video and Where People Tune In

Podcast listening now involves more than choosing an audio app. Audience research, television viewing figures and platform announcements all describe a medium that spans listening and watching. For you, the practical question is how an episode fits into the moment: audio while doing something else, video when the screen matters, or a longer watch on the television. The figures below help put those choices in context without making one format the default for everyone.

How Many Americans Listen

Edison Research's Infinite Dial 2026 reported that 58% of Americans age 12+ had consumed a podcast in the last month, representing 167 million people. Weekly consumption reached 45% of Americans age 12+, or 130 million people. Both measures were all-time highs in the report. Its broader measure found that 80% of Americans age 12+, or 230 million people, had ever listened to or watched a podcast.

The distinction between those time windows matters. Someone who has tried a podcast belongs in the lifetime measure, but that doesn't establish a weekly habit. Monthly and weekly figures give different views of recent consumption. Also, these are podcast consumption figures, including listening or watching, rather than a count of people using audio alone. Keep the age 12+ population in mind when comparing them with another audience survey: a different population or time window can change what a percentage means. These totals can help you understand the scale of podcast consumption, but they don't identify which app any particular listener chose. Use them to describe the audience, without turning them into a ranking of services.

Watching vs. Listening

The same Edison report found that 57% of Americans age 12+ had both listened to and watched a podcast. That describes people who have experienced both formats; it doesn't say that every episode is consumed twice, or that each person divides their time equally between them. The monthly, weekly and both-format measures answer different questions, so adding their percentages together wouldn't produce a meaningful audience total.

YouTube also announced 1 billion monthly active podcast viewers in its December 2025 report. That is YouTube's own platform figure, separate from Edison's measure of Americans age 12+. Treat the figures as different perspectives rather than competing estimates of the same group. When choosing a format yourself, think about whether you want to follow a visual explanation or simply hear the conversation. A preference can change with the episode and the setting.

Apple Podcasts Adds Video

On February 16, 2026, Apple announced a video podcast experience built on HTTP Live Streaming, or HLS. Apple described the ability to switch between watching and listening, move to a horizontal full display and download videos for offline viewing. At the announcement, HLS video was available for testing in beta versions of iOS 26.4, iPadOS 26.4 and visionOS 26.4.

Apple described the experience as coming that spring, including on the web. That wording is an announcement, rather than confirmation of a completed rollout. The useful idea for listeners is the proposed flexibility within an episode: deciding when the picture is useful and when audio fits better. If offline video matters to you, check the episode and app you intend to use before relying on a download. A platform's announced capabilities don't establish that every podcast offers every format.

Podcasts on the TV Screen

According to YouTube's December 2025 living room report, viewers watched over 700 million hours of podcasts on living room devices in October 2025, up from 400 million hours a year earlier. YouTube also described its Creator Shows experience for the living room interface and a Podcast chart launched in the US.

Viewing hours measure time spent watching; they are different from a count of individual viewers. The October comparison is also a specific month, rather than a full-year total. Those distinctions help keep a large headline number useful. For your own television setup, consider how you find an episode, pause it and return to it. Readability and navigation can matter as much as the size of the screen, particularly when you're deciding whether a long conversation fits a shared viewing space.

What Happened to Google Podcasts

Google discontinued Google Podcasts in the US. Its published transition timetable kept listening available through March 2024 and allowed listeners to migrate subscriptions to YouTube Music or export them for other podcast apps through July 2024. Those were deadlines for that transition, rather than a continuing offer to migrate today.

If you're following older instructions that mention the standalone Google Podcasts app, distinguish that historical service from the app you plan to use now. Think about the shows you want to follow and the listening controls you need, rather than expecting a discontinued app's instructions to remain applicable. Before relying on any subscription transfer, check what the receiving app actually accepts. The historical timetable explains the change; it doesn't guarantee that an old transfer tool still works.

Picking a Platform

Start with an ordinary episode and the device you expect to use most. Check how easily you can find it, understand its format and resume after a pause. If listening away from a connection is important, inspect the download options before you need them. If watching matters, check whether that particular episode offers video and whether the playback controls suit the screen.

For app choices, the podcast platforms guide provides a starting point. Consider audio and video separately instead of assuming that choosing a platform settles both questions. Make your comparison around a few concrete tasks: following a show, finding the next episode and returning to an unfinished conversation. The strongest audience figures explain why podcast formats deserve attention; your own routine determines which features are useful. Try the same tasks on each platform you're considering so your comparison stays consistent. Keep notes about anything that interrupts playback or makes an episode hard to locate. That gives you a practical basis for choosing, alongside the broader industry numbers.