🚀Insights from Edison Research on True Crime Podcast Trends

Edison Research has released the results of the True Crime Consumer Report, underwritten by audiochuck, a leading media company and True Crime podcast network; the report provides an in-depth look into the current trends and future outlook for True Crime podcasts.

The Revelation: 84% of the U.S. population aged 13+ were those who watched or listened to True Crime content through any medium. 42.2% of the U.S. population aged 13+ have ever listened to a True Crime podcast, while 17.7% are True Crime Consumers who listened to podcasts but not True Crime podcasts.

Zoom In: True Crime podcast listeners are far more likely than True Crime Consumers who don't listen to podcasts to take part in justice-related activities, from providing tips to solve cases to signing petitions about causes and raising awareness of cases. The other key finding here is that the listeners of True Crime podcasts are way more likely to donate money directly: 3.6 times more likely to donate to a cause or organization, and 3.3 times more likely to donate to victims and their loved ones.

Listeners of True Crime podcasts claim to be interested in the genre for the following reasons: 49% said the psychology behind actual crimes is interesting; 48% like the forensics behind a crime; 50% wanted suspense and thrill and another 50% wanted to solve a mystery. Perhaps one of the most interesting findings was that 89% of U.S. Weekly Podcast Listeners age 13+ have binge-listened to True Crime podcasts.

The Data: This study, fielded in May 2024, was carefully weighted to reflect the gender, age, and ethnicity distribution of the U.S. population. It involved twenty-four in-depth interviews with a diverse range of consumers of True Crime, both podcast listeners and non-listeners, to make sure all opinions and thoughts were taken into consideration. Additional data for The True Crime Consumer Report were provided by Edison Podcast Metrics™.

Why it matters: The popularity of True Crime podcasts, if acknowledged, goes a long way in creating content and advertising targeted at this most engaged audience. Furthermore, this will serve as key insight into the development of future podcast creation and marketing strategies tailor-made for the True Crime genre.

Our take as Podcast Producer: The closest one can come to adapting his content for maximum reach and appeal is to constantly stay abreast of listener preference and behavior as a podcast producer. Using the data from the True Crime Consumer Report, one can craft a material that speaks more to the current listeners and gains new ones.

Full Report Below 👇

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