An update on listening trends during the coronavirus pandemic.

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P A N D E M I C U P D A T E

2. As we prepared to launch the inaugural Stitcher Podcasting Report in early March, news was building about the novel coronavirus
and its spread around the world. It quickly became clear that the pandemic was going to radically alter American life for an
unknown amount of time. With that in mind, we decided to delay launching the report until we had some data to share about how
this public health emergency is affecting podcast listening behavior.
The data in this addendum is a snapshot of the 8 weeks, from March 1 – April 27, 2020, when workplaces closed, schools shut
down, governors issued stay-at-home orders, and we started adjusting to this different way of life.
Based on our data, podcast listening did drop some as these changes rolled through society, but the good news is that listening
didn’t decline by much, and we’re already starting to see a return to pre-COVID-19 listening levels. We will continue to monitor the
numbers this year and plan to share more of our findings in the future.
We think this early data is more proof that podcasting has become an integral part of the American public’s media consumption. It’s
a medium listeners depend on to both make sense of the daily news cycle and to escape it. And because producers can record
podcasts from just about anywhere, creators can safely make shows even as social distancing continues.
— The Stitcher Team
Listening Behavior Since Covid-19
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© 2020 Stitcher

3. S T I T C H E R R E P O R T : P A N D E M I C U P D A T E
Source: Stitcher App data. 3
Listeninghours(millions)
Weekly listening hours
Active Users
Stitcher Monthly Active Users
(MAUs) showed little difference
from February to March 2020 and
only a slight drop of 4% in April from
the previous month, primarily
stemming from a smaller number of
new incoming users.
Total Listening
Hours
Total listening hours during the first
8 weeks of the pandemic (March 1 -
April 27) decreased by about 14%
compared to the previous 8 weeks.
Even then, they had not dropped to
the levels we typically see during
holidays.
July 4th
Thanksgiving
Winter Holidays
Pandemic
0
2
4
6

4. S T I T C H E R R E P O R T : P A N D E M I C U P D A T E
Source: Stitcher App data. 4
When comparing the average
hours listened per user during the
8 weeks prior to the pandemic
with the first 8 weeks of the
pandemic, we see an average drop
of 24 weekly listening minutes per
user, from approximately 7.9
hours per week to 7.4 hours per
week.
In the last two weeks of April, we
began to see a return to pre-
COVID levels of listening hours per
user and an increase in total
listening time across the platform.
Listening Time
Per User
Averagehoursperweek
Average weekly listening hours per user

5. S T I T C H E R R E P O R T : P A N D E M I C U P D A T E
Source: Stitcher App data. 5
The number of listeners has decreased primarily during weekday commuting hours, peaking instead over lunchtime, from 11am-2pm. The spread of listening
across the days of the week, however, has remained unchanged.
Other factors, such as listening by state, have not changed compared to pre-COVID data.
Listening Times
Listeners
Changes in listening times since March 2020
2020-03-02
2020-03-09
2020-03-16
2020-03-23
2020-03-30
2020-04-06
2020-04-13

6. Changes in listening hours by genre, week over week
S T I T C H E R R E P O R T : P A N D E M I C U P D A T E
Source: 2020 Stitcher App data.
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Most genres saw their biggest dip
in listening coincide with the start
of stay-at-home orders beginning
the week of March 16. True Crime,
Sports, Games & Hobbies, and
Comedy genres were the hardest
hit. As the pandemic reached its
seventh week, Science & Medicine
shows began to see a decline in
listening, with a 13% drop the
week of April 27. The Sports and
Comedy genres showed the
biggest rebounds with things like
the NFL draft and other sports
news hitting at the end of April —
and new quarantine comedy
shows popping up in mid-April.
Listening
By Genres
Before 3/1/2020
After 3/1/2020

7. S T I T C H E R R E P O R T : P A N D E M I C U P D A T E
Source: 2020 Stitcher App data. 7
Binge listening habits
decreased at the
start of the
pandemic but are
beginning to return
to pre-pandemic
levels.
Binge
Listening
Habits
Binge listening hours by week
Hours

8. S T I T C H E R R E P O R T : P A N D E M I C U P D A T E
Source: 2020 Stitcher App data. 8
Most genres saw a decrease
in binge listing hours, ranging
from -8% for Science &
Medicine to -27% for True
Crime. But True Crime was still
the most-binged genre, with
more than twice as many
binged hours than Comedy,
the second most-binged
genre.
Binge Listening
By Genre
Change in binging hours week over week
Before 3/1/2020
After 3/1/2020
Binge listen:
When a user listens to at least 90% of
three episodes of one show in a day.

9. S T I T C H E R R E P O R T : P A N D E M I C U P D A T E
Source: 2020 Stitcher App data. 9
We’ve witnessed some changes in top show rankings as listeners tuned in for pandemic-related coverage (measured by number of listeners).
Content Shifts
At the start of the pandemic, listeners sought more coronavirus-related content, broadly. Searches for terms related to “coronavirus” began to pop in February and
then became the third most searched term by mid-March. As the coronavirus pandemic has continued, search numbers have decreased.
Search Terms
The Joe Rogan Experience has remained the most popular podcast. But The Daily has taken over as the
second most popular, bumping This American Life down to the No. 3 spot.
News and topical shows like Up First, Planet Money, and The Rachel Maddow Show have also
risen in popularity during the pandemic.
Coronavirus: Fact vs Fiction was the only coronavirus-specific show to make an appearance in the top 25 shows, during
the week of March 16th.

10. S T I T C H E R R E P O R T : P A N D E M I C U P D A T E
Source: 2020 Stitcher App data. 10
The one genre that has gained in binging hours during the pandemic is Kids & Family, which saw weekly binging hours increase by 4%.
Within the Kids & Family genre, the top 5 shows in the weeks before the pandemic were mostly aimed at parents. During the pandemic, shows made for kids
took over the top 5 spots as parents turned to podcasts to entertain their children.
Kids & Family Genre
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
Top 5 Kids & Family Podcasts
(1/5/2020–2/29/2020)
Top 5 Kids & Family Podcasts
(3/1/2020–4/25/2020)
Kids shows

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