Podcast Listening in Canada Reaches 39% of Canadian Adults Monthly as YouTube Surpasses Spotify in Platform Share

National Post

08-07-2025

Article content
Canadian Podcast Growth Surges in 2025, Driven by English Language Audience Gains, News Genre Growth and Steady Listening Patterns Across Platforms
Article content
NEW YORK — As Canadians turn increasingly to digital audio for news, entertainment, and connection, new data shows the country's podcast appetite has reached unprecedented levels.
Article content
Triton Digital®
Article content
, the global technology and services leader in the digital audio, podcast, and broadcast radio industries, today released the 2025 edition of the Canadian Podcast Report, offering a comprehensive year-in-review on podcast consumption across the country. The report analyzes listener behavior, platform preferences, genre trends, and the nation's top-performing shows from April 2024 through March 2025, incorporating findings from the Canadian Podcast Listener study by Signal Hill Insights, supported by Ulster Media.
Article content
'Podcast listening is growing in Canada, and we are seeing increasing diversity in who is listening, what they're listening to, and how they're accessing content,' said Daryl Battaglia, Senior Vice President of Measurement Products and Strategy at Triton Digital. 'These shifts offer important insights for creators and advertisers looking to reach a broad and evolving audience.'
Article content
Podcast Listening Growth Across Canada
Article content
Podcast listening in Canada continued its upward trajectory in 2024, with monthly reach hitting 39%, a 3-percentage-point increase year over year. This growth was driven primarily by English-speaking audiences, whose monthly listening rose by four points. While Francophone listening declined slightly, the national figures reflect continued momentum across the broader listener base. Engagement also deepened: among current listeners, the average number of podcasts consumed weekly increased from 3.5 to 3.9, and average weekly episodes rose from 8.2 to 8.4, signaling stronger content affinity and more frequent listening habits.
Article content
Downloads by Device and Platform Preferences
Article content
Over 90% of all podcast downloads in Canada occurred on mobile devices, solidifying mobile's role as the dominant access point. In a major platform shift, YouTube overtook Spotify as the most-used app for podcast listening, indicating how visual integration and cross-platform convenience are reshaping listener behavior. It now has the most listeners, though not necessarily the most overall listening.
Article content
Who's Listening?
Article content
Podcast listeners in Canada span every demographic group, with distinct patterns by age, income, and education. Spotify attracts the youngest listeners, while YouTube skews more male. Apple Podcasts has the highest percentage of listeners with household incomes over $100K and post-secondary education.
Article content
What Are Canadians Listening To?
Article content
News was the most downloaded podcast genre. True Crime and Comedy rounded out the top three, reinforcing Canadians' appetite for both timely information and compelling storytelling. Genres like Society & Culture (12%) and Sports (7%) remained stable year over year, while the Business genre saw a slight decline, dropping from 4% to 3% in the past year.
Article content
Top Networks and Shows
Article content
Among sales networks, SiriusXM Podcast Network led in average weekly downloads, followed by Wondery and CBC/Radio-Canada. The most downloaded podcast in Canada in 2024 was Dateline NBC from NBCUniversal News Group.
Article content
Spotlight on Canadian-Made Audio
Article content
Canadian content continues to perform exceptionally. Front Burner (CBC/Radio-Canada) ranked as the top Canadian-made English-language podcast, while Le Radiojournal (Radio-Canada) led in French-language downloads, demonstrating the influence and reach of locally produced journalism.
Article content
Genre Breakdown & Release Cadence
Article content
News and Sports podcasts released the highest volume of episodes, mirroring their popularity in downloads. Other genres with frequent new content included Society & Culture (8%) and Comedy (7%), which continue to resonate with Canadian listeners.
Article content
About Triton Digital
Article content
Article content
Article content
Article content
Article content
Contacts
Article content
Media Contact
Article content
Article content
Article content