Apple Podcasts Loses Market Share to YouTube and Spotify

Apple Podcasts, once the dominant platform for podcast listening, is seeing a significant decline in popularity as competitors like YouTube and Spotify gain ground, according to a recent study from Cumulus Media and Signal Hill Insights.

The term “podcast” is a portmanteau of “iPod” and “broadcast,” reflecting the format’s debt to Apple. However, the study found that the podcast landscape has changed dramatically since the company first popularized the medium in 2005 with the release of iTunes 4.9. YouTube is now the most popular platform for podcast consumption in the U.S., with 31% of respondents saying it was their top choice. Spotify follows with 21%, while Apple Podcasts has fallen to third place with just 12% market share.

This is in stark contrast to Apple’s position just a few years ago. As of July 2019, 29% of weekly podcast listeners primarily used ‌Apple Podcasts‌. Several factors appear to be contributing to ‌Apple Podcasts‌’s declining popularity. ‌Apple Podcasts‌ only recently generated direct revenue for the company, when it introduced podcast subscriptions in 2021, from which Apple takes a cut.

Additionally, Apple Podcasts has historically not been available on Android or Windows devices, limiting its reach, though the launch earlier this week of an Apple Podcasts web app may help alleviate that problem.

The growing popularity of video podcasts has also given platforms like YouTube a huge advantage, while Apple Podcasts has shown no willingness to push video. Indeed, it’s unclear whether the company is working on major updates or features to more effectively compete with the more visual version of the medium offered by YouTube and Spotify.

Despite its decline, Apple Podcasts still has the advantage of being pre-installed on all Apple devices, giving it a large potential user base. However, Apple may need to rethink its strategy by emphasizing video podcast content, adding more monetization options for podcasters, and attracting new, younger listeners to the platform.

In iOS 18, Apple’s Podcasts app now displays chapter segments of a podcast as you navigate through a currently playing episode, making it easier to navigate audio content, but there aren’t any major new podcast features in the latest version of Apple’s mobile operating system.