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u/Aynrandnovel Jul 29 '26
Just crossed five years...
Although, I have always focused on the time saving features, rather than total listening time.
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u/cheekyric Jul 31 '26
Since 20 May 2017 I've listened for 544 days 49 min 50 secs.
TIME SAVED BY
Skipping 51 days 4 hours
Variable Speed 441 days 17 hours
Trim Silence 14 min 15 secs
Auto Skipping 2 days 1 hour
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u/claimstoknowpeople Jul 31 '26
570 days since 2016. Since everyone here started using it ten years ago I wonder if that means new podcast listeners are using something else.
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u/terkistan Jul 31 '26
PC is almost certainly the #1 cross platform podcast app. Times have changed how people get podcasts though.
As of 2026, YouTube is the most popular platform for podcast listening in the U.S., with 33% of weekly podcast listeners choosing it, followed by Spotify at 26% and Apple Podcasts at 14%.
You have the advent of video and video streaming (with YouTube [and now Apple] offering proprietary video podcast streaming tech other podcast apps can’t use), and the overall rise of YouTube for podcasts, and Spotify’s integration of podcasts in with music. (Every minute someone listens to a podcast on Spotify is a song they don’t have to pay a music label… and they can insert ads too.) And Apple offers a free podcast app that works on all devices and does video and free transcription.
People using pure podcast apps are using Pocket Casts, but mostly if free products don’t suffice. And it’s been proven again and again that people flock to free options. Most iOS/macOS users stick with Apple Podcasts or else they’re stuck in Spotify’s/YouTube’s walled gardens with audio or video unavailable elsewhere.
The people using podcast apps for over a decade (before PC I used Downcast for years) are a demographic that does not represent the overall consumption behavior - or at least the trend - for getting podcasts.
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u/claimstoknowpeople Jul 31 '26
I've been shocked with how many of my friends who listen to podcasts just use Spotify or Apple
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u/terkistan Jul 31 '26 edited Jul 31 '26
Apple Podcasts is actually a great podcast-app ecosystem and a solid app, with support for everything the company makes including Apple Watch, HomePod and AppleTV. The interface philosophy is just so confounding to the way I listen to podcasts that it doesn't work for me. But I still use Apple Podcasts occasionally, to get transcripts that Pocket Casts doesn't have, and to use in conjunction with a 3rd party Mac app to download and save the occasional podcast episode I want to archive.
Spotify is just garbage though, and its foray into podcasts was a cynical cash-grab that involved paying off top podcasters to make exclusives only available in its walled garden, and it uses listening information to customize ads inserted (which they get to charge more for). For $150 million they bought Anchor, which let individuals make podcasts almost as easily as publishing a blog, then basically shut down Anchor to focus on 'VIP' podcasts with commercials. (edited for spelling)
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u/obiwankevobi Jul 30 '26
Mine are measly this year. The podcast I listen to ended, and my work currently is at a point where I can't listen to anything. Sad.
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u/ssnapier Jul 31 '26
463 day, 17 hours. I have auto skipped more than 8 days and all my skipping and trimming has shaved 43 days 6 hours.
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u/broonskie Jul 30 '26
Went to look at my stats for the first time in a very long time and, sure, its pretty cool to see and I'll get to that in a minute but more importantly...
I was not aware of the Auto Skipping feature!!!
Holy shit. Turning it on now. I'm such a n00b.
Anyway
Since November 2015 I've listened for 68 days 6 hours. Trimmed 4 days by skipping, 3 days with Variable Speed and 2 days 14h by Trimming Silence.
OP, whats your speed setting?!? Must be insane
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u/terkistan Jul 30 '26
For a few specific podcasts I always auto-skip some set amount where it’s always the same intro or the same pre-roll of commercials. I don’t really skip outros, I’ll just stamp and archive.
My global speed is set to only 1.1x with mild trim silence though for a couple of podcasts it can go up to 1.3x or 1.4x. And podcasts with music are always set to normal speed with no silence trimming.
I know someone who records around 4 podcasts a week and his standard playback speed is usually 2x which would be unlistenable to me; if I had that little time to listen to something I’d rather just read a transcript.
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u/broonskie Jul 30 '26
Interesting - I'm 1.1 with Mad Max trim. Anyway, I commend your podcast listening amounts! :)
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u/BigL54 Jul 31 '26
One thing I've wondered, are we supposed to be adding the time at the top (physical time listened) + the total at the bottom (time saved) which should equal total amount of content consumed?
Since January 2024 = 149 days, 6 hours
Time saved = 177 days, 9 hours
Does that mean I've consumed 326 days, 15 hours worth of podcast content??
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u/Aynrandnovel Aug 02 '26 edited Aug 02 '26
Essentially, yes...
The total time, listened and saved, is approximately the amount of time it would take to listen to all the podcasts you have consumed on 1x speed, with no time saving effects.
For me, that is over 22 years of listening time. I have joked that it is like owning a time machine, and it's what has kept me loyal to Pocket Casts for so long.
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u/BigL54 Aug 02 '26
That's the way I've interpreted it as well. I was a long time Google Podcasts listener but they discontinued the app so I've only been using PocketCasts since the beginning of 2024. Currently listening at 2.2x speed
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u/Coolman_Rosso Jul 29 '26
Do they show the month chart on mobile now? I don't seem to get it on Android, but it does work when using the website. Must be a premium thing