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 come up with totally contradictory recommendations. So what's the right thing to do? We've asked ourselves the question, and we've come up with some 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. The results are constantly evolving, and don't always resemble each other... At Calliopé, we wanted to give you a rough 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 over 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

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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. Listener abandonment of a podcast 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 is 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 ? Millenials? Consider the attention span of your target audience when determining the length of your podcast. If your audience is likely to have a shorter attention span, a shorter podcast may be more effective.

The podcast format

Format has a major influence on the length of a podcast. At present, podcasts can be divided into two categories. The short format is best suited to :

• Solo monologues,
• Press briefings

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The long format is best suited to :

• Podcast interviews, as they often involve several speakerd 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 subject covered in the episode and the participants' willingness to debate it.  

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Test, test, test...

As I said at the beginning of this paragraph: there's no such thing as the optimum duration! On the other hand, you can use the general trends we saw earlier, and the type of audience you're targeting, to... Test! Do some 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.

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Examples of podcast lengths?

To get an idea, we thought a few examples from the world's most popular podcasts might help:

• "The Joe Rogan Experience" by Joe Rogan. The most popular interview-format podcast on the planet, bought for 100 million by Spotify and broadcast exclusively on the streaming platform. From 1h13 to 4h44
• "The Daily" by The New York Times. Today'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 Monde. From 17'03 min to 25'44 min
• "Le Billet de Paul Mirabel" - by France InterIn the top 5 most popular podcasts in France. A French comic's chronicle of current events. Between 3 min and 4 min
• "Canapé Six Places" by Lena Situations. In the top 5 most popular podcasts in France. This interview format is available exclusively on Spotify. From 28'07 min to 45'54 min

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Avner UZAN