Middle East’s first-ever report into the podcast landscape of KSA is due to be released in May 2020.
As the global boom in podcasting continues, spurred by the sudden increase in working from home, new research has revealed there are 5.1m regular listeners in Saudi Arabia, with one in four women (21%) listening to podcasts every week, according to new statistics released by the broadcast specialist, markettiers MENA. The report is supported by global podcasting consultancy 4DC for a first-of-its-kind study into Saudi Arabia’s podcast landscape.
The results reveal that nearly a quarter (23%) of the adult population listened to a podcast and 15% of the adult population tuning in regularly, at least once a week. The report puts Saudi Arabia on a similar par with the UAE, with 16% (1.3m) of the adult population tuning in at least once a week to a podcast.
Almost twice as many women (21%) define themselves as regular podcast listeners compared to 11% of men. The reason women value podcasts so much is that they provide dedicated content to cater to their specific interests (69%), they can listen whilst doing other things (61%) and they value the storytelling nature (49%) of the medium.
The research, carried out during the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak canvassed the thoughts of more than 2,000 adults in Saudi Arabia and revealed that nine in 10 (93%) of those surveyed trust podcasts more than any other medium.
Commenting on the study, Managing Director of markettiers MENA, Cheryl King said: “We’ve long known that there has been a burgeoning podcast community in Saudi Arabia, but there has been little data until now to identify just how many people are listening, what they’re listening to and why. Following the success of our UAE podcast report, we are excited to launch the first-ever study into podcast consumption in Saudi Arabia.
“The full results which will be released shortly highlight the huge relatively untapped opportunity that exists for brands to engage with connected audiences in a powerful way. Now more than ever in the current climate, the time is now for podcasts.”
