The listeners podcast companies most want to win over are already tuning in to local radio. According to The Podcast Study 2026 from Point-to-Point Marketing and Strategic Solutions Research, 79% of podcast Superfans and 82% of so-called Prime Prospects listen to local radio at least weekly, and nearly six in 10 of them listen every day.
The overlap runs the other way too. The researchers found that 43% of daily radio listeners qualify as either a Superfan or a Prime Prospect, compared with 26% of people who do not listen to radio regularly.
The study also measured how willing these radio-listening podcast fans are to engage and spend. Among Prime Prospects who listen to radio, 83% follow their favorite podcasts on social media, 75% are likely to subscribe to a tier carrying only host-read ads, 70% would definitely join a free VIP club, and 68% are likely to pay for a premium tier. Among radio-listening Superfans, 68% would definitely join a free VIP club and 64% are likely to pay for premium access.
"Podcasting's best fans aren't someone else's audience. They're already yours," said Hal Rood, executive vice president of Strategic Solutions Research. Point-to-Point Marketing CEO Tim Bronsil added that "a significant number of the people most willing to follow, join and pay are already daily radio users."
The researchers frame the findings as a case for stations to build on existing on-air host relationships through exclusive content, listener clubs and paid subscriptions, rather than treating podcasting as a separate audience to chase from scratch.