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Podcast trends from Acast: Summer 2022
Podcast trends from Acast: Summer 2022
A September snapshot from Acast’s Business Analytics & Insights team on the trends we’re seeing across our network of podcasts
2022.09.20
Data is at the heart of everything we do at Acast. We have research, analytics and insights teams that work across our business and help both our podcasters and our advertisers to reach their potential — from those dedicated to helping our podcasters grow their shows, to those working alongside our global sales teams to make sure every dollar, pound or peso of brands’ campaign budgets is well spent.
With all this data floating around, we tend to spot patterns and trends before others — and we thought it might be helpful to share them with you. So, here are four of the most interesting things we’ve noticed over the summer, using data from across our network of more than 66,000 podcasts.
1. 2022 was the summer of love
You can tell a lot by the name of a podcast episode. 2022 might be looking bleak for many, but we’ve also just experienced the summer of love — with more Acast podcast episodes being released between June and August using words like “love”, “marriage” and “summer” in their titles when compared to the previous two summers.
As you can see from the timeline below, in 2020 we were much more caught up in talk of Covid-19, important stories around the Black Lives Matter movement, and general business news as the world was turned upside down. 2021 was much of the same.
This summer, with countries around the world finally opening back up, podcast listeners were looking to be entertained as much as informed.
2. Sport is evergreen
For the past three summers, some of the most commonly titled podcasts have been about sport — but, perhaps most interestingly, the sports have varied each year. This summer, WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) was the most popular sporting topic across Acast podcasts. Last year it was the Euros, and in 2020 it was the ever-popular topic of football — covering both the North American and European interpretations of the word.
3. Summer listens in new markets
But where in the world are people listening to these episodes? Outside the key markets where Acast has feet on the ground — like the UK, US, and much of Europe — we’re also seeing listens rapidly grow in a number of interesting territories.
While it’s widely known that audiences are increasingly turning to podcasting in fledgling markets like India and the Philippines — as reflected by our own listening data — other areas such as China, Japan and Iran showed noticeable growth throughout the summer.
4. Demand for more great content in LATAM markets
We recently launched on-the-ground operations in Spain, and have just signed one of Spain's biggest podcasters in Cristina Mitre — adding her considerable following to Acast’s Spanish-language portfolio of podcasts, which also includes smash hits like Se Regalan Dudas.
And we’re seeing interesting trends across Spanish-speaking markets. Podcast listening in LATAM has been accelerating in recent years, and eMarketer has noted the number of listeners in Spanish-speaking countries gaining ground on English-speaking markets.
That appetite from listeners goes some way to explaining why we’ve seen an uptick in the number of LATAM-based shows created over the summer. While Brazil has already been earmarked by many as the next market to watch, countries including Argentina, Peru, Chile, Venezuela and Colombia are all showing significant growth in listener numbers.
That’s supported by the number of new Spanish-speaking podcasters that have joined Acast, as we continue to help creators the world over to find their voice and their audience.
If you're interested in learning more about advertising with Acast, and how your brand can align with the latest podcasting trends, please contact globalsales@acast.com.