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Nearly two years after overtaking Spotify in the US for the first time, YouTube has risen to the top as the most popular service used for podcast consumption in the UK.
According to Edison Podcast Metrics UK, 29% of weekly podcast listeners aged 15+ choose YouTube as the most used service to consume podcasts, Overtook Spotify (28%) for the first time on record.
Public media is a major player in the UK and has a strong presence in podcasting, which is probably one reason why YouTube has not grown as quickly in the UK as it has in the US. Fifteen percent of UK podcast consumers use BBC Sounds, the BBC’s dedicated audio streaming platform, as their primary service. This percentage dwarfs any public media-related podcast service in the US and competes with other services like YouTube.
If you’re interested in learning more, sign up for UK Podcast Consumer Report 2026 Webinarfrom Edison Research at SSRS, which will be live streamed on July 16, 2026 at 2pm BST/9pm EDT.
