54% of Brits switch platforms mid-listen, Audion and YouGov study finds

London, 5 November 2026: Audio is becoming ‘format-fluid’ as audiences move between audio and video platforms depending on what suits them in the moment.

More than half (54%) of British people say they start listening to audio content on one platform and finish it on another. Within this group, 19% begin on audio and switch to video, 15% kick off with video but move to audio, while 29% report doing both (go from audio to video and from video to audio).

These are key findings of YouGov research commissioned by Audion, an AI-driven advertising platform specialising in digital audio.

The study also finds that 44% of British people listen to video without watching.

This ‘format-fluidity’ is now mainstream in the UK but stronger elsewhere. 64% of Italians, and 66% of people in both France and the US use video platforms just to listen. Switching platforms mid-content is reported by 58% of listeners in France, 62% in Italy and 74% in the US.

In addition, the survey data shows that 65% of Spotify listeners in both the UK and Italy also use another platform, with this figure rising to 74% in France and 76% in the US. These findings further indicate the fragmented nature of the listening landscape, as well as its market variations.

Geoffrey Fossier, global CMO at Audion, says: “People care about what they listen to, not where they consume it. They move easily between audio and video, to the point that video, audio’s traditional rival, has become its biggest platform. That’s good news for consumers and for the channel, but the resulting fragmentation makes life harder for advertisers. We built Audion AI to treat audio and video as one channel so brands can reach listeners wherever they tune in.”

Julien Chevignon, CEO Europe at YouGov, says: “These findings show just how much audio consumption habits have evolved. Listening is no longer defined by a particular device or platform, but by a moment and an intention. The fact that two-thirds of listeners use a video platform without watching the screen is the clearest illustration of this shift. It is a fundamental change that we see consistently across France, the US, Italy and the UK.”

Full results of the Audion research with YouGov are shown in the attached infographic.

Methodology: An exclusive YouGov and Audion online study conducted from 16 to 18 September 2026 among representative samples of adults aged 18 and over, drawn from YouGov’s proprietary panels. France: 1,009 respondents, including 765 digital audio listeners; USA: 1,465; Italy: 1,013; UK: 2,257. The estimate of 41 million digital audio listeners in France applies the 76% listening rate to the INSEE estimate of the adult population.

About Audion

Audion is an advertising technology company that makes digital audio a measurable, performance-driven media channel. Its proprietary AI and contextual technology helps advertisers make audio a more measurable, performance-driven channel, analyzing audio and video content to inform contextual targeting, activation and optimization across premium digital environments. Founded in 2018 by Arthur Larrey and Kamel El Hadef, Audion works with more than 3,000 advertisers and agencies and operates across key markets in Europe and the United States.