Audio: digital as a driver of growth

Audio—whether live radio, podcasts, music streaming, audiobooks, etc.—is undergoing a profound transformation, driven by the rise of digital usage. Far from being a simple technological shift, this evolution is permanently reshaping listening habits and confirming the strength of a medium that has successfully combined heritage and innovation. At the Innov'Audio Paris 2025 event, the ACPM and Médiamétrie shared the key benchmarks for audio.

Radio, a mass media that has fully entered the digital age

The first statistic: radio remains an essential mass media, listened to daily by nearly 38 million French people.[1]. This power is now also expressed in digital form. 

“If radio is still the leading offering in the audio world, ahead of music streaming and other offerings, it is because it is fully in line with new uses, with digital radio consumption growing rapidly,” 

analyzes Cécile Bertrand, Audio Director at Médiamétrie.

In 2025, 21% of total audio listening will be digital radio, either live or via podcast, compared to 12% in 2020. In five years, this share has almost doubled.

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This growth is also reflected in listening time. Live digital radio now accounts for 1.3 million hours of listening per day, up 19% compared to 2020, with an average daily listening time of 41 minutes, an increase of nearly two minutes in five years. This is a strong indication of how firmly established this practice has become[2].

A quarter of all radio consumption now takes place on digital devices. While 35-49 year olds remain the biggest contributors (33% of their radio listening is digital), growth is now being driven by the over-50s, confirming a massive, intergenerational shift[3]. Smartphones are the leading digital listening device, accounting for nearly two-thirds of usage, while connected speakers continue to grow in popularity[4].

Podcasts: the essence of the audio revolution

This shift is most evident in the world of podcasts. 

“Podcasts have already gone from being an emerging medium to a strategic ecosystem, listened to every month by 46% of French people aged 15 to 80, or nearly 23 million people,” 

says Cécile Bertrand. 

In five years, the number of podcast listeners has grown by 76%, with momentum remaining strong: +16% in just two year[5].

This massive adoption is accompanied by impressive volumes. In October 2025, radio replay podcasts totaled 5.6 million daily downloads worldwide[6]. In addition, nearly 900,000 native podcasts (excluding radio replays) were downloaded daily[7], illustrating the complementarity between broadcast and on-demand listening.

Podcasts appeal because of their editorial flexibility. Listeners favor humor and entertainment, followed by cultural and social topics. News remains in the top three favorite topics, while sports has seen spectacular growth, moving up two places in two years to join news and history programs[8]. 

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This ability to cover both breaking news and in-depth topics is reflected in usage patterns: in 2025, sports podcast downloads in France increased by 26% between the first and second quarters, with major sporting events such as Paris Saint-Germain's victory in the Champions League and Roland Garros. There were also spectacular peaks during major events such as the Tour de France (+123% in July vs. June 2025)[9].

The formats themselves reflect this maturity: 38% of downloads are for podcasts lasting 15 to 30 minutes, 29% are for long formats lasting more than 30 minutes, and 33% are for short formats, proving that no single duration dominates and that there is a place for every type of usage[10].

Finally, podcasts continue to become more widespread across different regions and social groups. While higher socio-professional categories and Parisian listeners remain very engaged, monthly listening is growing strongly among lower socio-professional categories, inactive people, and in small towns (up to +25% in two years)⁶. This dynamic is accompanied by strong investment from regional media: more than 160 podcasts from the regional press are now included in the ACPM rankings¹¹.

Complementary uses throughout the day

Live radio, music streaming, podcasts: audio does not operate in silos, but complementarily. Live radio remains the morning reflex, with the largest share of total daily audio listening concentrated between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m., while on-demand offerings—particularly music streaming—are gradually taking over in the afternoon². This temporal organization allows audio to be part of every moment of life. 

“It illustrates the true complementarity of audio offerings, which allows each listener to find what they want at any given moment,” 

says Cécile Bertrand.

A medium already focused on the next generations

Finally, audio confirms its ability to reach all audiences, including the youngest. 15-24 year olds use it more intensively in the evening, and native podcasts for children are experiencing remarkable growth, with 17.6 million downloads worldwide in the first nine months of 2025, driven by well-known brands and a strong correlation with school vacation periods¹².

Publication management: Médiamétrie Communications Team

Editor: Laure Osmanian Molinero