What Did RAJAR Report on October 29, 2026?
RAJAR published its third-quarter 2026 audio figures on October 29, and the headline podcast number circulating that morning was 35%: the share of UK adults who listen to or watch a podcast in an average week. RAJAR is the body that measures UK radio audiences, and its release documents credit the research firms Ipsos and RSMB. Its homepage lists the “Current Release” as “29th October 2026” for Q3 2026 (RAJAR).
The quarterly survey is large. The Q3 2026 chart pack gives a quarterly sample of 33,009 diaries from people aged 15 and over (RAJAR Q3 2026 charts). Radio itself held steady: RAJAR says 51.2 million adults, or 87% of the adult population, tuned in to radio each week in the quarter, for a total of 1.034 billion hours (RAJAR infographic).
The podcast figures came from two places. RAJAR’s own one-page infographic gives a monthly number: 40% “listen to Podcasts at least once a month,” with the footnote “of those who answered the questionnaire.” The weekly numbers, including the 35%, were published the same morning by Adam Bowie, who writes a detailed quarterly analysis of each RAJAR release on his blog, and were picked up by the trade newsletter Podnews, which wrote that “podcasts are now consumed by 35% of the population, according to new data from RAJAR” (Adam Bowie; Podnews).
What Changed in How RAJAR Asks About Podcasts?
RAJAR now asks separately whether people listen to podcasts and whether they watch them, and the 35% combines the two. Bowie’s summary is the clearest account we found: “RAJAR has changed the way it asks about podcast listening this quarter, with separate measures for listening and watching podcasts.” He reports that weekly podcast listening “has risen from 26.9% of the adult population saying they do it last quarter, to 30.7% of the population saying they do it this quarter,” and that “When you combine this number with those who watch, total weekly Podcast Consumption comes out at 35%” (Adam Bowie).
Podnews described the same change this way: “the research company are now asking if you listen to or watch podcasts: the previous figure, 26.9%, was only for listening” (Podnews).
Two limits matter here. The RAJAR documents published on its site for this release, the infographic and the all-radio chart pack, do not set out the new question wording or the weekly podcast figures; we are relying on Bowie’s reading of the data for those, and Podnews links to his post rather than to a RAJAR table. We also could not find a RAJAR statement explaining the change, so we do not describe its purpose.
Did Podcast Listening Really Grow by a Third?
No: the move from 26.9% to 35% compares a listening-only figure with a listen-or-watch figure, so most of it is a change of definition, not of behavior. Here is what the two reported numbers do and do not support, on our reading.
| Comparison | Change | Like for like? |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 weekly listening (26.9%) to Q3 weekly listen-or-watch (35%) | +8.1 points | No: different measures |
| Q2 weekly listening (26.9%) to Q3 weekly listening (30.7%) | +3.8 points, about 14% higher | Closer, but the question changed between the two quarters |
| Q3 listen-or-watch (35%) minus Q3 listening (30.7%) | 4.3 points | Same quarter; implies people who watch but do not listen, if 35% is a net reach |
| Monthly listening, Q2 2026 (36%) to Q3 2026 (40%) | +4 points | RAJAR’s own infographic figure; we could not confirm whether its wording changed |
The point changes and the 14% relative rise are our arithmetic from the published figures. The 4.3-point gap assumes that 35% counts each person once, which is how Bowie’s phrase “total weekly Podcast Consumption” reads, but we have not seen the RAJAR table behind it.
Even the listening-only rise should be read cautiously. When a survey separates “listen” from “watch,” some people who never thought of a YouTube show as a “podcast” may start answering yes to both. That is a common effect of rewording a question, and nothing in the published documents lets us measure it here. The cleaner trend comes from RAJAR’s monthly figure, which was 38% in Q3 2025, 36% in Q2 2026 and 40% in Q3 2026 (Q3 2025 infographic; Q2 2026 infographic; Q3 2026 infographic): up two points on the year.
Why Does RAJAR’s MIDAS Survey Say 26%?
Because MIDAS is a different, smaller survey that counts audio listening only. MIDAS is RAJAR’s periodic study of all audio, from live radio to audiobooks. The Summer 2026 wave was “carried out over two weeks in June 2026 with a final sample of 1,648 former RAJAR participants aged 15 plus who completed a 7-day online diary” (RAJAR MIDAS Summer 2026).
Its podcast finding: “26% of the UK population tune in to podcast episodes in an average week and those listen for around 6.9 hours per person,” with 106 million podcast hours a week. Crucially, “The key metrics for audio listening are based on the non-visual elements of the survey,” and the report describes its headline audio reach as consumption “that is solely listened to and not viewed” (RAJAR MIDAS Summer 2026).
MIDAS also hints at how big the viewing side is. Among people who claimed to listen to podcasts, “23% also claimed to watch podcasts weekly,” and 15% named YouTube as a source of podcast discovery, behind word of mouth (27%), social media (22%), podcast app suggestions or charts (18%) and radio (18%). Most listening still happens on phones: “Podcasts are mainly consumed via apps on Smartphone (69%)” (RAJAR MIDAS Summer 2026).
Which Number Should You Use?
Use the figure that matches the claim you are making, and name its period and definition every time. The chart puts the five RAJAR-family numbers side by side.
% of UK adults aged 15+, by measure and period
Source: RAJAR/Ipsos/RSMB, “RAJAR Data Release Quarter 3 2026” infographic; RAJAR, “MIDAS Summer 2026”; weekly quarterly figures as reported by Adam Bowie, “RAJAR Q3 2026.” Read October 29, 2026.
Not one series. The monthly figure is among those who answered RAJAR’s questionnaire; the 35%, 30.7% and 26.9% weekly figures come from Adam Bowie’s reading of the RAJAR data and do not appear in RAJAR’s public release documents we read; MIDAS is a separate June 2026 diary survey of 1,648 people that counts listening only.
The chart shows a range of 26% to 40% for “UK podcast use,” depending only on whether the period is a week or a month and whether watching counts.
Our recommendation, not a RAJAR rule: for audio reach in a media plan, quote 30.7% weekly listening (Q3 2026) with its source; for total reach including video, quote 35% weekly listen-or-watch and say that it includes watching; for time spent, use MIDAS (6.9 hours a week per podcast listener), because the quarterly figures we read do not give hours. Do not set any of the 2026 weekly figures against a pre-change figure and call the difference growth. RAJAR’s MIDAS report itself says “the most recent set of published MIDAS data should be used for any external purposes.”
A rough sense of scale, which is our arithmetic and not a RAJAR figure: RAJAR’s 51.2 million weekly radio listeners equal 87% of adults, which implies an adult (15+) population of about 58.9 million. On that base, 35% is about 20.6 million people a week and 30.7% about 18.1 million. Treat these as estimates, since the podcast figures may use a slightly different base.
How Does the UK Compare With the US Figures?
The figures are not directly comparable, because the US benchmark measures monthly use among people 12 and over, while RAJAR’s measures cover people 15 and over. Our report on how many Americans listen to podcasts covers the US benchmark of 58% monthly listening; RAJAR’s comparable monthly figure for the UK is 40%. Survey methods, age floors and wording differ, so the gap is a signal, not a measurement.
The direction is the same in both markets: video is now part of what people mean by a podcast, and measurement bodies are catching up. Our explainer on how people consume podcasts as video or audio sets out the US data, and our report on whether Podtrac counts YouTube views like YouTube does shows the same tension in download rankers.
What This Means for Anyone Buying a Podcast Placement
For a company booking UK podcast guest spots or sponsorships, the new RAJAR figure is a reason to ask every show for audio and video numbers separately. A show’s pitch deck may now cite “35% of UK adults” as the market; that number includes people who only watch. Three practical points follow, all our recommendations:
- Ask for audited audio delivery and platform-reported video views as separate lines. Audio downloads are counted under the IAB’s rules; YouTube views are counted by YouTube. Our guide to what changed in the podcast download rules explains why the two do not add up neatly.
- Weight the format to the audience you want. If the MIDAS pattern holds, about a quarter of podcast listeners also watch weekly, so a video clip of a guest appearance reaches people who may never hear the audio.
- Do not let a market-size figure stand in for a show’s audience. Population reach tells you the category is large; it says nothing about how many people will hear one episode. Our data report on how many listeners finish an episode covers that gap.
Methodology and Limitations
Four limits apply. First, the weekly 35%, 30.7% and 26.9% figures and the description of the question change come from Adam Bowie’s analysis and Podnews’s summary of it; the RAJAR documents we could read on October 29, 2026 (the Q3 2026 infographic, the all-radio chart pack and the RAJAR homepage) do not include them. Second, RAJAR’s monthly podcast figure is footnoted “of those who answered the questionnaire,” and we could not confirm whether its wording changed in Q3. Third, MIDAS is a separate June 2026 online diary of 1,648 people, so its 26% is not a quarterly RAJAR figure. Fourth, every point change, percentage change and population estimate in this explainer is our own arithmetic, rounded to one decimal place.
Conclusion
About a third of UK adults use podcasts in a typical week, and two in five do so in a month. The uncomfortable part for buyers is that the headline jump to 35% is mostly a measurement change: watching now counts. That is a more honest picture of how people use podcasts, but it means any pitch that quotes the new figure as growth, or as an audio audience, deserves a follow-up question.
Frequently Asked Questions
What percentage of the UK listens to podcasts?
RAJAR’s Q3 2026 data, released October 29, 2026, puts weekly podcast listening at 30.7% of UK adults, as reported by analyst Adam Bowie. RAJAR’s own infographic says 40% listen to podcasts at least once a month.
Why did RAJAR’s podcast figure rise to 35%?
RAJAR changed its question in Q3 2026 to measure listening and watching separately. The 35% is weekly “podcast consumption” including people who watch, so comparing it with the previous 26.9% listening-only figure mixes two different measures.
Does RAJAR count watching podcasts on YouTube?
Its quarterly survey now has a separate measure for watching podcasts, according to Adam Bowie’s analysis of the Q3 2026 data. RAJAR’s MIDAS survey still bases its key audio metrics on listening only.
What is RAJAR MIDAS?
MIDAS is RAJAR’s separate survey of all audio listening, from live radio to podcasts and audiobooks. The Summer 2026 wave was a 7-day online diary completed by 1,648 former RAJAR participants in June 2026, and found 26% of UK adults listen to podcasts weekly.
How many hours a week do UK podcast listeners spend listening?
RAJAR’s MIDAS Summer 2026 survey says weekly podcast listeners listen for around 6.9 hours per person, a total of 106 million hours a week.
Which UK podcast figure should a media plan use?
Our recommendation is to quote the measure that matches the claim: 30.7% weekly listening for audio reach, 35% weekly listen-or-watch for total reach, and RAJAR’s 40% for monthly reach. Always name the period, the definition and the source.
Sources and Methodology
This Explainer is built from RAJAR’s Q3 2026 data release documents, read on October 29, 2026, the day they were published, RAJAR’s earlier infographics and its MIDAS Summer 2026 report, plus Adam Bowie’s analysis and Podnews’s summary from the same morning. All point changes, percentage changes, population estimates and the comparison table are our own arithmetic, labelled as such; the advice on buying placements is our recommendation, not anything RAJAR says. We did not have access to RAJAR’s full podcast tables or questionnaire.
- official RAJAR/Ipsos/RSMB, RAJAR Data Release Quarter 3 2026 infographic. Monthly podcast listening 40%, weekly radio reach 51.2 million and 87%, 1.034 billion hours. Read October 29, 2026.
- official RAJAR/Ipsos/RSMB, All Radio Listening Charts, Q3 2026. Release date and quarterly sample of 33,009 diaries. Read October 29, 2026.
- official RAJAR, RAJAR Data Release infographics for Q2 2026 and Q3 2025. Monthly podcast listening of 36% (Q2 2026) and 38% (Q3 2025, separate file). Read October 29, 2026.
- official RAJAR, MIDAS Summer 2026. 26% weekly podcast reach, 6.9 hours, 106 million hours, watching and discovery shares, method and sample. Read October 29, 2026.
- official RAJAR, Homepage. “Current Release” date of October 29, 2026. Read October 29, 2026.
- trade press Adam Bowie, RAJAR Q3 2026. Question change; weekly listening 26.9% and 30.7%; weekly consumption 35%. Read October 29, 2026.
- trade press Podnews, Rest Is Politics US to livestream election results. Podnews summary of the 35% figure and the question change. Read October 29, 2026.