What's the best length for a podcast?

For a podcast agency like Calliopé, the question that comes up most often is: "What's the best length for a podcast? "Our answer... It depends!Yes, it depends, because at the moment, there are no strict rules for determining the ideal length of a podcast, and different studies can provide totally contradictory recommendations.So what do you do? We asked ourselves the question, and came up with our top tips to help you choose the right podcast length for your brand.If you're launching a podcast project soon, read this article all the way through! 1,2,3... Here we go!

What's the best length for a podcast?

To determine the right length for a podcast, research is multiplying, and the results are constantly evolving, and not always the same... At Calliopé, we wanted to give you an idea of what's possible for your branded podcast.

What is the average length of the most popular podcasts?

41 minutes according to the Journal of Marketing Communications study, slightly more than 44 minutes according to a study by Edison Research.Researchers from several studies therefore seem to agree on the average length of a podcast episode.Yes, but...Because there is a but,

What is the average length of the most popular podcasts?

What's more, these same researchers found that the most popular podcasts had shorter average durations...Shorter? Yes, shorter! We're talking about :

• About 30 minutes for the Journal of Marketing Communications study
• Approximately 35 minutes for the Castbox survey (conducted among more than 1,000 podcast listeners)
• 30 minutes or less, according to 62% of respondents to the Edison Research study who said they preferred podcasts

The statistic below, showing the duration of podcasts produced, is therefore no longer surprising.

Worse still, according to a study published by Pex (and carried out on 32 million podcast episodes), the average length of a podcast has shrunk by 20% (or 10 minutes less) between 2015 and 2019.

How long are the most abandoned podcasts?

All these studies also found a common element: podcast abandonment by listeners often occurs for so-called longer podcasts (over an hour).

Which isn't surprising, really, when you consider the decline in Internet users' attention spans in general.

But in reality, to determine the true length of a podcast, you need to rely on certain factors, which we'll explain in the next paragraph.

What's the best length for a podcast?

At the time of writing, there's no such thing as the optimum length for a podcast: in fact, the length of a podcast will depend on a number of factors specific to your brand's audience... Yes, I know, it's annoying... But I've got good news: if you pay attention to the following factors, you'll know whether your podcast is better suited to a 20-30 minute format rather than several hours.

Factors to consider when determining the ideal length of a podcast

Podcast content

Determining the length of a podcast can be as simple as a formula:

Number of topics covered = Time spent developing them

In other words, a :

• Long if your podcast covers a wide range of subjects (to allow sufficient exploration of each topic)
• Short if your podcast focuses on a single topic or has a clear structure, a shorter format may be more appropriate.

The attention span of your potential listeners

Does your brand want to speak to Generation Z? Y ? If your audience is likely to have a shorter attention span, a shorter podcast may be more effective.

The podcast format

The format has a major influence on the length of a podcast.At present, podcasts can be divided into two categories.The short format is more suitable for :

• Solo monologues,
• Press briefings

The long format is best suited to :

• Podcast interviews, because they often involve several speakersd and may require more time to allow in-depth discussion of the subject.
• Round table podcasts, because they can vary in length, depending on the type of topic addressed in the episode and the participants' willingness to debate it.  
• Test, test, test...
• As I said at the beginning of this paragraph: there's no such thing as the optimum length! However, you can use the general trends we've seen above, and the type of audience you're targeting, to... Run tests! Run tests and ask your listeners to comment on your episodes, to give their opinion: are they more inclined to listen to a 5-minute episode or a 20-minute one? Only tests will tell.
• Examples of podcast lengths?
• To get an idea, we thought a few examples from the world's most popular podcasts might help.In the table below :
• Podcast name
• Description
• Duration
• "The Joe Rogan Experience" by Joe RoganThe most popular interview-format podcast on the planet, bought for 100 million by Spotify and released exclusively on the streaming platform. From 1:13 to 4:44"The Daily" by The New York TimesToday's most popular news podcast. Produced and broadcast by the NYTimes. From 23'08 min to 45'12 min"L'Heure du monde "- by Le MondeFrom 17'03 min to 25'44 min"Le Billet de Paul Mirabel" - by France InterIn the top 5 most popular podcasts in France. Between 3 min and 4 min"Canapé Six Places" by Lena SituationsIn the top 5 most popular podcasts in France. This interview format is available exclusively on Spotify.28'07 min to 45'54 min
• Avner UZAN