YouTube has risen to the top as the most popular service used for podcast consumption in the UK, nearly two years after YouTube edged out Spotify in the U.S for the first time. According to Edison Podcast Metrics UK, 29% of weekly podcast listeners ages 15+ choose YouTube as the service they use most to consume podcasts, surpassing Spotify (28%) for the first time on record.

Public media is a key player in the UK and has a robust presence in podcasting, providing perhaps one reason why YouTube has not grown as fast in the UK as it has in the U.S. 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 U.S. and competes with other services, such as YouTube.

If you’re interested in learning more, sign up for the UK Podcast Consumer Report 2026 webinar, from Edison Research at SSRS, which will stream live on July 16th, 2026 at 2pm BST/9am EDT.