According to the BITKOM study, a quarter already hear podcasts – shorter posts are the most popular

Podcasts are still on the rise: One in four Germans (26 percent) say they hear such digital radio shows – in the previous year it was 22 percent. This is the result of a representative survey of more than 1,000 people, ages 16+, on behalf of the digital association Bitkom. So, every eleventh (9 percent) hears podcasts at least weekly, another 9 percent at least once a month. Especially young people like to access podcasts. More than one in three people between the ages of 16 and 29 (35 percent) indicates this. “Whether news, thrillers or relationship talks – the podcast offer is as big as ever and is constantly growing,” says Bitkom expert Dr. Sebastian Klöß, The vast majority of Germans, on the other hand, have not gotten the taste: 70 percent of respondents said they never hear podcasts.

Popular topics: news, film, television, sports, comedy

Particularly popular among podcast listeners are the news and politics (45 percent) and film and television (41 percent). Similarly many are interested in sports and leisure as well as comedy (each 38 percent). One in three (33 percent) likes listening to music podcasts, closely followed by the topics of science (29 percent) and education (28 percent).

For the duration of a podcast, the majority of listeners prefer short shows. Half (49 percent) say a podcast should ideally be between 5 and 10 minutes, and 5 percent like even shorter podcasts. A quarter (24 percent) likes programs with a length of between 10 and 15 minutes. For only 7 percent, the preferred duration is over 60 minutes. The average value is 13 minutes. “With the smartphone, podcasts can be heard very well on the way – for example, on the way to work. But podcasts are also popular in household chores or as a companion in sports, “says Klöß. But not all listeners endure until the end of the episode. Only two out of five (38 percent) say: I usually listen to podcasts completely.

Bitkom’s tech podcast is called “Ctrl-Alt-Del.” The interviews, talks and keynote speeches are about trends around the digitization of the economy and society. The podcast is available on Spotify, iTunes, Soundcloud, on all major podcast apps, and on the website www.bitkom.org/podcast .

Methodological note: The basis for the information provided is a representative survey conducted by Bitkom Research on behalf of Digitalverband Bitkom. 1,003 persons in Germany aged 16 and over were contacted by telephone. The questions were: “How often do you listen to podcasts?”, “What topics do you listen to podcasts?”, “How long is a podcast ideally so that you like to hear it?”, “Listen to podcasts usually completely or only partially ? “