Podcast Baseline Study 2025

The latest Podcast Baseline Study by iq digital in collaboration with Reppublika Research & Analytic* shows that the media offerings from the iq digital portfolio enjoy high usage and awareness.  

 

The iq digital podcast portfolio impresses 78 per cent of listeners with the exceptionally high credibility of the media brands FAZ.NET, Handelsblatt Online, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Der Spiegel, manager magazin, WirtschaftsWoche Online and DIE ZEIT. Listeners also appreciate the professional presentation and high-quality content.  

 

Advertising in podcasts is accepted by listeners (82 per cent), but 68 per cent believe it should primarily match the content of the podcast. In terms of advertising format, the ‘presenter read’ format, which is used consistently across all podcasts in the iq digital portfolio, is more popular than host-read advertising, with 68 per cent preferring it.  

 

A total of 1,277 podcast listeners aged 18 and over who listen to podcasts at least once a month were surveyed between 12th July and 25th July 2025. 

The Key-Takeaways

Emotional and informative touchpoint.

Podcasts combine information, relaxation and education with entertaining storytelling.

This puts listeners in an ideal position to receive brand messages.

 

Presenter-read vs. host-read.

Presenter-read continues to prove itself as a reliable format with general acceptance.

 

Seeing or hearing? Audio remains the favourit!

Despite growing video usage, it is clear that podcasts are an audio medium.

 

AI in podcast advertising: quality wins the day.

The majority of listeners accept AI-generated advertising – as long as it is produced to a high standard.

 

You can find more insights here in the Podcast Basics Study 2025.

Download

The detailed German study baseline and insights into the results are available for download here.