India; December 19, 2024: Audio series platform Pocket FM today announces its 2024 app consumption insights through Pocket FM Playback 2024, offering an in-depth look at how the world embraced storytelling and immersive audio experiences over the year. This report celebrates a landmark year of record-breaking engagement and revenue, driven by an ever-expanding content library and a passionate global audience.
A Phenomenal Year of Entertainment
The numbers speak volumes about the monumental year Pocket FM experienced in 2024. Globally, listeners streamed over 100 billion minutes and completed more than 45 million transactions. With a listener demographic comprising 54% Gen Z, 37% Millennials, and 5% Gen X, Pocket FM continues to captivate young audiences. Interestingly, the platform’s gender distribution showcased a near balance, with 53% male and 47% female listeners.
Pocket FM’s AI-powered innovation fueled this growth. AI-generated audio series expanded the content library by an astounding 36X, while human-narrated series improved by 2X. This commitment to innovation translated into massive financial success, with over seven audio series surpassing $10 million in revenue – a 600% increase from 2023 – and 35 audio series achieving million-dollar status, three times more than the previous year.
The Genres That Ruled the Charts
Romance and Drama reigned supreme in both India and the US, followed closely by Fantasy and Sci-Fi and Horror and Thriller. These genres not only captured imaginations but also drove hours of engagement, proving that immersive storytelling knows no borders.
The Only 24/7 Entertainment Category
Over 200,000 listeners spent more than 3 hours every day on the platform throughout the year, and more than 10,000 listeners listened over 3,000 hours – roughly 8 hours daily – a third of the day.
Listening patterns revealed a shift in consumer behavior, with morning hours (5-8 AM) and commute hours (8-11 AM) accounting for nearly 30% of daily consumption. Notably, leisure hours (8-11 PM) saw almost 8% consumption as listeners likely to have opted for audio series over traditional TV series. Late-night hours (11 PM-5 AM) accounted for a striking 22.9% of total listening.
India: A Nation Spellbound by Stories
India stood out as a key market, with millions of listeners tuning in from its vibrant cities. The top 10 cities included Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, Surat, Chennai, Jaipur, and Lucknow. Popular genres like Romance and Drama, Fantasy and Sci-Fi, and Horror and Thriller kept the audience captivated.
Top-performing audio series in India reflected the nation’s love for gripping narratives:
- Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh: Played over 100 million times.
- Secret Ameerzaada: Played over 85 million times
- Insta Millionaire: Played over 60 million times
- Insta Empire: Played over 50 million times
- Super Yoddha: Played over 42 million times
“In 2024, we didn’t just grow; we redefined the very nature of entertainment by establishing audio series as a mainstream entertainment. Audio series, as a category, is no longer a niche—they are the next evolution of global entertainment. This year’s achievements are a testament to the immense potential of this category and our commitment to leading its growth” said Rohan Nayak, CEO and Co-founder of Pocket FM “At Pocket FM, we have combined the power of human creativity with AI innovation to build a scalable, sustainable content ecosystem that transcends cultural boundaries and reimagines the way audiences consume stories.”