The study was conducted in May among more than 2,500 US adults of Hispanic origin, 44% of whom said they had never listened to podcasts.

In comparison, nearly 80 million of their compatriots are listening to these audio programmes each week.

There are many factors that seem to explain the relative lack of enthusiasm for podcasts among Latin Americans.

Nearly half of those surveyed say they don’t have time to listen to them, while 47% find them too long. Even more surprising, 70% say they are “just not for them.”

But where does this preconception come from? From a lack of understanding of what podcasts really are, perhaps.

Almost a third of respondents don’t know how to find or listen to one online. Plus, 31% also mistakenly think they have to pay to subscribe to a podcast.

Making podcasts more accessible

But all is not lost. According to the study, 43% of those surveyed would be willing to listen to podcasts if they addressed topics that interest them.

A quarter of respondents would like them to feature stories about their country of origin or stories from other Latin Americans, as “Latino USA” or “La Brega” already do.

Respondents would also be willing to join the ranks of listeners if podcasts were easier to discover (33%), or if they were hosted by a well-known personality they like.

According to Elsie Escobar, co-founder of the production studio She Podcasts, bilingual podcasts have a role to play in encouraging Latinos to dive even deeper into audio.

“Bilingual podcasts are an opportunity to re-connect and re-build our identities as we are, plus create bridges for all of our Latino and Hispanic experiences within the US and beyond,” she said in a webinar relating to the study findings.