China’s Podcast Boom: The Underused Channel Foreign Brands Are Missing

🎙️ China is having a podcast moment. Big names are leaving TV and short video for long-form audio and video talk shows, and brands are starting to notice. This is one of the 11 marketing trends for 2026 flagged by Chinese media outlet Huxiu (虎嗅网), in an article titled “2026影响品牌的11个营销趋势” (“11 marketing trends that will shape brands in 2026”). Here is what is happening, and what it means if you sell in China.

China’s podcast audience is set to pass 150 million

According to the data Huxiu cites, China’s podcast audience was expected to top 150 million listeners by the end of 2025. That is a huge jump for a format that was, until recently, seen as a niche habit for a small group of white-collar workers in Beijing and Shanghai. In 2026, the growth keeps going, and the audience is getting broader and older.

Two platforms lead the space. 小宇宙 (Xiaoyuzhou), the most talked-about podcast app in China, added 46,196 new podcasts and 484,134 new episodes in 2024 alone. Its core users are 18 to 35 years old, urban, and used to paying for content. 喜马拉雅 (Ximalaya), the older and bigger platform, has a more balanced mix of men and women, users mostly 24 to 40, and a surprising base of 15 million listeners aged 50 and up, who listen an average of 212 hours a year. That is a lot of ear time for a brand to reach.

Bilibili, Douyin, and WeChat Video Channels are now pushing into the format too, with video podcasts (long interviews filmed and published as video, not just audio). This is where the story gets interesting for marketers.

Big names are moving to long-form talk shows

The clearest sign that podcast has gone mainstream in China is who is doing it. 罗永浩 (Luo Yonghao), a well-known entrepreneur and livestreaming personality, launched “罗永浩的十字路口” (“Luo Yonghao’s Crossroads”) on Bilibili. Episodes run 3 to 5 hours and average around 1 million views, with guests like Li Xiang, Liu Qian, He Tongxue, and Tim. That is a serious commitment from both host and audience, and it is working.

陈鲁豫 (Chen Luyu), a household name from Chinese television, moved to Bilibili with “陈鲁豫-慢谈” (“Chen Luyu, Slow Talk”), 2 to 3 hour episodes averaging about 2 million views, with guests such as Dou Wentao, Chen Yixun, and Gong Linna. 章泽天 (Zhang Zetian) and 李诞 (Li Dan) are taking a different route, publishing shorter, roughly one hour episodes directly on Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book), where their audience already lives.

On the money side, Huxiu quotes Luo Yonghao saying commercial deals for his show are “endless” and revenue is “very considerable” (“商单就接不完，收入非常可观”). When a host with that level of reach openly says sponsorship demand outpaces his slots, it tells you where budgets are moving. We already covered part of this shift in our guide on how to use China’s podcast industry for brand promotion, and the platform side connects closely to what we wrote about Bilibili marketing insights, since Bilibili is now home to two of the biggest new shows.

Why this matters for brands selling in China

Podcast in China is not radio with a different name. It is closer to a long, trusted conversation that people choose to listen to, often at 1.5x or 2x speed, on a commute or during a workout. The audience is not scrolling past a 15 second ad. They are staying for hours with a host they already trust. That is exactly the kind of attention brands pay a premium for elsewhere, and in China it is still priced well below KOL video.

Philip Chen’s take: the channel foreign brands keep skipping

I run into the same pattern almost every quarter. A foreign brand comes to us with a budget for Douyin and Xiaohongshu KOLs, sometimes Bilibili, and podcast is not even on the list. Not because it does not work. Because nobody on the marketing team has thought about it yet. That is a real opening right now, while the format is still building its ad market and before every competitor jumps in.

Here is how I tell a client to judge a podcast partnership before spending a dollar on it. First, listen to a few full episodes yourself, do not just look at follower counts. Does the host actually read the ad copy in their own voice, or do they just play a generic pre-roll clip? Host-read ads convert much better in China, the same way they do everywhere else, because the audience trusts the host’s opinion. Second, ask for real numbers: average completion rate, not just downloads, and how many listeners are still there at minute 40 if it is a long show. Third, match the audience age and city tier to your product. A show like Ximalaya’s older, 50+ segment is gold for health, wellness, or traditional goods brands, and almost useless for a trendy beauty startup chasing 20-year-olds.

On format, most shows sell three types of sponsorship: a short pre-roll or mid-roll read, a longer host-integrated segment where the product becomes part of the conversation, or a full branded episode. I tell clients to start with a mid-roll host-read on 2 or 3 shows before committing to a full branded episode, it is cheaper to test and still gives you a real read on whether the audience responds.

On budget, this is the part that surprises people most. A solid podcast sponsorship slot on a mid-size, trusted show can cost a fraction of a single video collaboration with a comparable-reach KOL on Douyin or Xiaohongshu, sometimes 30 to 50% less for a similar number of engaged listens, because video production and platform algorithm costs are not part of the deal. If your brand also cares about long-term trust rather than a one-off viral moment, this is worth a serious look. We go deeper into how sponsored content like this earns attention without feeling like a disruptive ad in our piece on native advertising in China, published on our sister site SEO Agency China.

My advice for the second half of 2026: pick one podcast, one Ximalaya or one Xiaoyuzhou show that matches your buyer, and test a host-read sponsorship for a quarter. Track branded search and direct traffic during the campaign, not just clicks. Podcast listeners convert later, but they convert well.

Philip Chen is CEO of GMA (Gentlemen Marketing Agency), which has helped more than 1,000 brands enter and grow in the Chinese market. Connect with him on LinkedIn.