YouTube overtakes Spotify as UK’s top podcast platform

Image credit: Search Engine Journal

YouTube surpassed Spotify to become the most-used podcast platform in the United Kingdom during the first quarter of 2026, according to new research released by Edison Research.

The video-sharing platform was cited as the preferred podcast service by 29 percent of weekly UK podcast listeners aged 15 and over, narrowly exceeding Spotify’s 28 percent share.

This marks the first time YouTube has outranked Spotify in the UK market, though Edison Research described the finding as a “first on record” rather than a confirmed long-term trend.

YouTube’s share among weekly listeners increased from 19 percent in 2023 to 29 percent in the latest survey. Conversely, Spotify’s share declined from 33 percent in 2023 to its current 28 percent.

BBC Sounds remained the third most-used service, capturing 15 percent of the market, while Apple Podcasts held 10 percent, Edison Research reported.

The shift in the UK market mirrors a trend observed approximately two years earlier in the United States, where YouTube became the top podcast platform. In the U.S., YouTube garnered 31 percent of weekly listeners, primarily driven by younger audiences and the platform’s video content offerings.

Edison Research suggested that the UK’s slower adoption of YouTube as the dominant podcast service, compared to the U.S., is partly attributable to the strong presence of public media organizations like BBC Sounds in the British market.

The data was collected as part of the “Podcast Consumer Tracker” conducted by Edison Research and SSRS.

Source: Search Engine Journal