More and more Canadians are plugging into podcasts, according to a recent study by media research consultancy, Audience Insights.

According to results from The Canadian Podcast Listener 2018 study, 20% more Canadians are engaging in podcasts regularly than they were in the summer of 2017.

The study, which involved an initial survey of 3,118 Canadians aged 18 years and older, is a follow-up to the organization’s first study last year, produced in association with the Podcast Exchange (TPX). The survey was conducted among a nationally representative sample of members from the Maru Voice online community. The initial results are from May 2018, with the full study being released in the fall.

Audience Insights also partnered with The Globe and Mail and Ulster Media to conduct last year’s survey of 2,500 Canadians in 2017. The results showed that an estimated 34% of the country’s adult population – 10 million people – had listened to podcasts in the last year, with 41% catching onto the trend that year and 30% beginning to listen to podcasts two to three years prior.

Although “modest growth” was seen in terms of podcast awareness and sampling in the past year, the organization cites Canadians gaining interest and engaging with the platform on a more regular weekly basis.

According to the study, the number of people who have listened to podcasts grew 2% from 43% of Canadians surveyed to 45%, with the number of Canadians who are familiar with podcasts grew from 73% to 76%.

The number of people who listened to podcasts over the past year was bumped up from 34% to 36% and the number of people listening monthly went from 24% to 26%. Meanwhile, the number of people listening weekly grew from 15% to 18%, signalling a growing interest in engaging with the platform on a regular basis.

It’s good news for networks that have begun to dip their toes in the podcasting stream. Corus, Rogers and BlogTO have all been entering the space this year.