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Tackling the question: How long should a podcast be?

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Tackling the question: How long should a podcast be?

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... plus more cool podcast statistics.

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How long is too long? What's the right duration for a podcast? This is one of the first questions ever asked when people are thinking about making a podcast. Here's an attempt to answer.

The scientific method

Podcasts are a multi-tasking medium - that is, you can listen to a podcast while you do something else. If you want to know the optimum duration for a podcast, you might want to know how long "something else" is.

For example, the average commuting time in the US is 26 minutes. If you make a podcast longer than the average commute time, you could reasonably expect that podcast to be less satisfying for those who listen to podcasts while commuting. However, an average - by its very nature - means many peoples' commute takes shorter, while others take longer.

So, it might be worth looking at the data. The overall average length of a podcast in 2019 is about 37 minutes; the average length of a podcast in the video games category is twice that.

But that 37 minutes figure includes all podcasts, whether they're popular or not. How long is a popular one? It turns out that the average length of a top 100 podcast (in October 2018) is 53 minutes. Rob Walch from Libsyn also has data from 2017, based on Libsyn popular downloads.

By July 2019, Megaphone, too, was reporting that podcasts are getting shorter. In August 2019, research showed that the most popular commercials on YouTube were just 6 seconds long. And in December 2019, RAIN News was comparing the total length of daily news podcasts with the amount of ads in them - and how long they took to get going.

A podcast survey in Nigeria at the end of 2019 says that 54% of Nigerians prefer podcasts to be shorter than 40 minutes (so nearly half prefer them to be longer.)

Perception is reality, though. Edison Research interviewed 1,000 Americans who were familiar with podcasts - but don't listen to them. Why? Because, 50% of Americans say: "podcasts are too long ".

Two thirds of listeners do come back to a podcast later to continue listening, according to research of radio fans; but the same survey says 21% of listeners - one in five - never come back.

The creative method

Consider these questions:
I'm going to have a conversation shortly with a mate. I was wondering whether I should chat with him for 17 minutes, or whether 22 minutes is a better duration for a conversation. Could you let me know which you'd recommend? I'm thinking of making a feature film. I was thinking 97 minutes, but it might be 102 minutes. Which would you think is better? I'm thinking of cutting the grass in a little while. Should I cut it for 13 minutes, or just for 11? Which will cut the grass more satisfactorily? I look forward to your answer.
These questions are obviously ludicrous. Yet, to ask "how long should my podcast be" is, in many peoples' minds, much the same. A podcast exists to tell a story or convey an idea. Unlike radio or TV, it needn't be any specific duration to fit a schedule.

The selfish method

Some podcasters hit 'record', do their podcast, and then, after hitting 'stop' simply publish the result. It's "as long as it needs to be".

Some believe this adds to the authenticity of the podcast. Others don't believe editing is worth the time. Ran Levi, and many others, believe they're wrong.

Helen Zaltzman says:

Everything benefits from a bit of an edit

Roman Mars says:

If you have 100,000 listeners and you edit out one useless minute you are saving 100,000 wasted minutes in the world. You're practically a hero.

Many of the world's most listened-to podcasters will tell you that editing takes much longer than recording. Recording is fun, editing can be boring and dull; but it's important to do, they say, because your number one job as a podcast host is to delight your listeners. If you don't, they'll go away.

So, according to many podcasters, editing is just as important as finding the right guests or the right content.

So: how long should I make my podcast?

Here's what we think:

A podcast should be as long as it needs to be: but not a second longer.

Edit, polish, and be respectful of your listeners' time. Make every minute matter.

If it takes 25 minutes to tell a great story, with all the fluff taken out and ensuring that every minute matters - then 25 minutes is the right duration for that story. But if it takes three hours, then that's fine, too - as long as every single minute matters. If not, edit it, and keep editing it.

This probably is a more complicated answer than you wanted. Share your thoughts in the comments.

Comments

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How long is too long? What's the right duration for a podcast? This is one of the first questions ever asked when people are thinking about making a podcast. Here's an attempt to answer. Podcasts are a multi-tasking medium - that is, you can listen to a podcast while you do something else.

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Disclosure: Links to other sites may be affiliate links that generate us a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Updated stats: Edison Research Infinite Dial 2020 released March 19th, 2020. Q1 2018 report from Nielsen came out March 20, 2018. Total number of podcasts & episodes on Apple Podcasts updated April 2021.
As new stats and reports come out, this post will be updated with the latest info on the podcast listener landscape.

There is both an infographic (with embed code) and a Pinterest image for your sharing needs as well!

Also, a common question is "how many podcasts are there?" and most of the data out there is outdated, but we have an accurate method for determining the number of shows - and it's currently over 2,000,000.

There are also over 48 million episodes as of April 2021.

To highlight the growth, Apple confirmed there were over 550,000 podcasts at WWDC 2018 in early June.

An article published April 25, 2018, by FastCompany states there are:

Over 525,000 active shows and over 18.5 million episodes

And an article by Variety back in Feb 2018 said:

Apple Podcasts ... features more than 500,000 active podcasts, including content in more than 100 languages.

It's no surprise that those numbers are climbing daily.
Want to start your own podcast? Check out some of the best podcast hosting companies and our guide to starting a podcast. Then take it to the next level by starting a WordPress blog using one of the best WordPress hosting sites. If you're looking for podcast stats & analytics for your podcast, check out Blubrry Statistics here.
Podcast Listener Stats (USA)

Demographics

75% of the US population is familiar with the term "podcasting" - up from 70% in 2019 (Infinite Dial 2020)

50% of all US homes are podcast fans (Nielsen, Aug 2017)

55% (155 million) of the US population has listened to a podcast - up from 51% in 2019 (Infinite Dial 20)

37% (104 million) listened to a podcast in the last month - up from 32% in 2019 (Infinite Dial 20)

24% (68 million) listen to podcasts weekly - up from 22% in 2019 (Infinite Dial 20)

16 million people in the US are "avid podcast fans" (Nielsen Q1 2018)

51% of podcast listeners are male - same as US population (Infinite Dial 20)

45% of podcast listeners have household income monthly over $75K - vs 35% for the total population

27% of US podcast listeners have a 4-year college degree - vs 19% for US pop

63% of podcast listeners are white - vs 58% for US pop (Infinite Dial 20)

Age of monthly podcast listeners versus US population (Infinite Dial 20):

Where, What, When, How

49% of podcast listening is done at home, down from 51% in 2017

22% listen while driving (in a vehicle), same as 2017

Podcast listeners subscribe to an average of 6 shows in the last week (Infinite Dial 20)

Podcast listeners listen to an average of 7 different shows per week, up from 5 in 2017

Podcast listening on a computer went up from 29% to 31% (smartphone listening went from 71% to 69% respectively)

19% of listeners increase the speed (listen faster)

65% of monthly podcast listeners have been listening for less than 3 years

Comedy is the most popular podcasting genre, followed by education and news

Social, Tech & Behavior

Podcast listeners are much more active on every social media channel (94% are active on at least one - vs 81% for the entire population)

Podcast listeners are more likely to follow companies and brands on social media

Podcast listeners are more likely to subscribe to Netflix or Amazon Prime (meaning they are less likely to be exposed to TV advertising)

Podcast listeners are more likely to own a smart speaker (Amazon Alexa or Google Home)

51% of bottled water households are podcast listeners (Nielsen, Q3 2017)

57% of baby food households are podcast listeners (Nielsen, Q3 2017)

53% of beer households are podcast listeners (Nielsen, Q3 2017)

56% of juice households are podcast fans (Nielsen, Q1 2018)

54% of milk households are podcast fans (Nielsen, Q1 2018)

54% of cereal households are podcast fans (Nielsen, Q1 2018)

69% agreed that podcast ads made them aware of new products or services

Global Podcast Stats

South Korea leads the world in the percentage of people who have listened to a podcast in the past month with 58%.

Here's the 2019 Podcast Stats & Facts Infographic:

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Sources:

Tool Of The Day
Buzzsprout Podcast Hosting

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2021 Podcast Stats & Facts (New Research From Apr 2021)

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Updated stats: Edison Research Infinite Dial 2020 released March 19th, 2020. Q1 2018 report from Nielsen came out March 20, 2018. Total number of podcasts

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"Podcast Shuffle" - A blog post summarizing how musical/sound ingredients, on-stage talent ingredients and production stage-molding ingredients work together in the podcast Off Topic, and how each ingredient successfully contributes to the meaning of the podcast as a whole.

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Off Topic - A podcast featuring the members of RoosterTeeth and Achievement Hunter in Austin, TX.

Off Topic is a casual, humorous and sometimes 'low-brow' casual podcast where "the gang congregates each week to discuss the important questions in life... and drink". There are over 200 episodes of the podcast which can be found in both audio format on Spotify and in video format on their website. ( https://roosterteeth.com/series/off-topic-the-achievement-hunter-podcast)

Hosted in Austin, Texas, the podcast features members of Achievement Hunter and Rooster Teeth, an online entertainment company. Each episode begins with the classic intro theme which fades into the members having a conversation about whatever they happen to be talking about while the podcast is getting set up, then starts with a loud "HEY, WELCOME TO OFF TOPIC" from the host. The one main host of the podcast, Michael Jones, normally begins by introducing the members of the podcast for that episode who mostly include other online entertainers in the company. The podcast was originally a video-only podcast, so their set is a mock bar with a working tap, drinks on the shelf, glasses, and bar stools sitting around a large high-top. Apart from that, the hosts are charged with the very important task of talking about literally anything for at least an hour and a half. And yes, it's all uncut.

The reason this mess of a concept was able to translate into an incredibly popular AUDIO podcast, even though it was originally a video podcast, is due to how casually it was set up. The hosts are hilarious with their own inside jokes and office drama and the way the set was designed makes it sound like a group of friends talking in an empty bar. Along with their conversations, you can hear the sounds of them adjusting their bar stools which scrape against the floor, moving glasses around to grab another drink from the tap, and banging their hands against the table when they laugh at something. Both the 'on-stage talent' ingredients and 'production' ingredients blend perfectly, and I believe it's the lack of a 'musical/sound' ingredient that actually brings the whole thing together. Part of the charm of the podcast is that it feels like the listener is walking in on a conversation among friends at a bar, so apart from the intro music and outro music, any other soundtrack would just feel a little off.

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https://open.spotify.com/episode/42zhSRF4342f9JimcMbNNS Off Topic - A podcast featuring the members of RoosterTeeth and Achievement Hunter in Austin, TX. Off Topic is a casual, humorous and sometimes 'low-brow' casual podcast where "the gang congregates each week to discuss the important questions in life... and drink". There are over 200 episodes of the podcast which can be found...

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"Off Topic and the Logic of Aesthetic Form" - A blog post identifying the elements that comprise DeWitt Parker's Logic of Aesthetic Form in the video podcast Off Topic.

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The casual Achievement Hunter podcast Off Topic gives a look into the lives of a group of friends and co-workers as they sit around a table, drinking and talking. Part of the podcast's organic unity is created in the managing of how many personalities are on an episode at once, usually ranging from 4 to 6 people. Due to the topic-less nature of the podcast, this amount of people is usually enough to keep a solid conversation going for the duration of the podcast without it ever getting too slow or too hectic.

Off Topic is a unique podcast in that the theme not only varies from episode-to-episode, but often changes in the middle of each episode as well. As I mentioned previously, the nature of the podcast is completely topic-less (hence the name: Off Topic) which means that there is never one or two specific topics that any episode dwells on or revolves around. That said, much of the podcast's entertainment value comes from this constant thematic variation; a cast that usually changes out from week-to-week talking about whatever comes to their mind.

The set of the Off Topic, which is a mock bar, achieves balance by placing the long table everyone sits around in the center of the shot with the taps, liquor shelves and glasses on the wall directly behind. Balance is also achieved in the seating arrangements with the host on the far left facing right, one guest on the far right facing left, and two or more guests on the far side/middle of the table facing the main camera. The Off Topic set achieves evolution over the podcast's lifespan by having props/art sent in by fans added to the set, changing/updating the table and barstools and, in one case, even duct-taping one of the tap heads back on after it was broken off during an episode. As the podcast gets older the set changes slowly but, when comparing recent episodes to older ones, very dramatically.

Finally, Off Topic contains hierarchical elements within the natural flow of the 1+ hour-long conversation, differently so than a TV show or other plot-based media. For example, they begin by talking about recent happenings in the media world and/or their personal lives, and something that's brought up will usually build into someone telling a story, going on a rant, getting into a debate, etc. Whatever topic/story that has been built up and talked about eventually dies down a little and the host and guests go back to joking and small talk until another story/topic is built up.

To watch the video version of Off Topic, click here.

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"Off Topic" and the Logic of Aesthetic Form

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The casual Achievement Hunter podcast Off Topic gives a look into the lives of a group of friends and co-workers as they sit around a table, drinking and talking. Part of the podcast's organic unity is created in the managing of how many personalities are on an episode at once, usually ranging from 4 to...

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by David Tobin

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Life is Strange Ep.5 Soundtrack - David Tobin, Jeff Meegan, Tim Garland - Crazy Like Me

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Link to the original video podcasts on the RT site.

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The gang congregates each week to discuss the important questions in life... and drink.

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Link to the official audio podcasts on Spotify.

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Listen to Off Topic on Spotify. The lads and lasses of Achievement Hunter congregate each week to discuss the important questions in life. Plus drink beer. Watch LIVE every Thursday at 3PM CT on Rooster Teeth Live. Watch the free video version at YouTube.com/AchievementHunter.

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"Crazy Like Me" - Off Topic instrumental cover

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"Crazy Like Me" - Off Topic instrumental cover

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by David Tobin

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This is a picture of the Off Topic cast from the very first episode: "Mountain Monsters - #0.1"

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No people on it, just a naked set with some booze.

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*shrug*