Live Podcasts Reveal the Power of Loyal Listeners

In recent years, the world’s biggest podcasts have taken their shows on the road—and with great success. For some, demand is so great they’re selling out arenas, for example The Rest Is Politics sold out their 10,000 seat show at the O2 arena in London, or Acquired’s recent interview with Mark Zuckerberg at San Francisco’s The Chase Center. 

While podcasts have long been on the rise, creators are only now fully tapping into the opportunities their devoted audiences bring beyond the studio. What’s especially interesting is that it’s podcasters—not YouTubers, TV hosts, or Instagram influencers—leading the live event charge. It’s a testament to something we’ve always known about podcasts: their audience loyalty is unmatched.

The intimacy of the same host in your ear at least weekly, often discussing their personal life, inevitably forms a unique para-social connection. Podcaster, entrepreneur and social media personality Scott Galloway noticed this in the different way fans approach him in public depending on where they’ve seen him: “a high five and some bro-ey banter, video. If they greet me like a friend they haven’t seen in a while, podcast.”

Live events have put this connection on full display, with listeners going to many lengths to see their favourite creator. Aussie duo Toni and Ryan recently hosted a listener party in London, where they built excitement by dropping clues about the location across their podcast and social accounts in the week before. This gamified approach successfully sparked a FOMO effect where over 1,000 fans cracked the clues to travel to the location—even though the podcast itself isn’t based in the UK. This kind of fervour is something we’d expect for pop stars, but for a digital medium, it’s an unprecedented update in audience behaviour.

Having organised multiple live podcast shows when working at News Corp, I’ve seen this loyalty up close. Fans would approach me after shows, raving about how lucky I was to work with the hosts and sharing how many years they’d been devoted listeners. Until then, our only interactions with listeners had been through social media and reviews, but meeting them in person solidified how deeply they like and trust their favourite podcasters.

This boom in live events isn’t just proof of loyalty; it shows how much listeners are willing to invest—both time and money—to experiences related to their favourite show, especially when hosts travel from overseas to form an even deeper connection. 

Sponsors have taken notice, too. Long-term podcast partners are using live shows to reinforce their presence - at Huberman Lab’s Sydney event, guests were greeted with extensive Athletic Greens branding in the foyer and informative leaflets on every seat. At Acquired’s show, J.P. Morgan Payments went even further with custom content segments and interactive product trials around the arena.

Whilst the wrong brand alignment could risk a negative effect, many podcast-brand partnerships are further reaping the benefits of podcast loyalty at shows – fans already familiar with the brand are more likely to engage, boosting consideration and driving long-term impact. 

There’s no shortage of studies proving podcast listener loyalty, but it’s not until you see this first hand does it really shine on display. So next time, likely not far away, your favourite podcast is in a city near you, buy that ticket and watch your own connection with them deepen.