Podcast Advertising Slows Its Roll

Eight big questions re: podcast advertising:
1) How many people listen to podcasts?
2) How much time do we spend listening to podcasts?
3) What share of ad-supported audio time do podcasts account for?
4) What is the average age for podcast listeners?
5) How large is the podcast advertising market?
6) What are advertisers trying to accomplish with podcast ads?
7) What share of podcast ads utilize audience data overlays?
8) How many podcasts are there?

Big question #1: How many people listen to podcasts?

Monthly podcast listeners in the U.S. (YoY growth) according to Activate Consulting:
1) 2014 – 40M (↑ 25%)
2) 2015 – 46M (↑ 15%)
3) 2016 – 57M (↑ 24%)
4) 2017 – 65M (↑ 14%)
5) 2018 – 75M (↑ 15%)
6) 2019 – 88M (↑ 17%)
7) 2020 – 112M (↑ 27%)
8) 2021 – 123M (↑ 10%)
9) 2022 – 126M (↑ 2%)
10) 2023P – 134M (↑ 6%)

Big question #2: How much time do we spend listening to podcasts?

Average daily time spent listening to podcasts (YoY growth) according to eMarketer:
1) 2018 – 8m (↑ 41%)
2) 2019 – 11m (↑ 45%)
3) 2020 – 15m (↑ 34%)
4) 2021 – 18m (↑ 22%)
5) 2022 – 21m (↑ 14%)
6) 2023 – 23m (↑ 11%)
7) 2024P – 25m (↑ 8%)
8) 2025P – 27m (↑ 8%)

Big question #3: What share of ad-supported audio time do podcasts account for?

Quick answer: 20%

Big question #4: What is the average age for podcast listeners?

Median age by media type according to Edison Research:
1) Broadcast TV – 54
2) Radio – 48
3) Podcasts – 34

Big question #5: How large is the podcast advertising market?

Podcast advertising (YoY growth) according to the IAB/PwC:
1) 2017 – $314M (↑ 86%)
2) 2018 – $479M (↑ 53%)
3) 2019 – $708M (↑ 48%)
4) 2020 – $842M (↑ 19%)
5) 2021 – $1.4B (↑ 72%)
6) 2022 – $1.8B (↑ 26%)
7) 2023 – $1.9B (↑ 5%)
8) 2024P – $2.2B (↑ 12%)
9) 2025P – $2.4B (↑ 10%)
10) 2026P – $2.6B (↑ 8%)

Why this matters: Advertising on CTV is growing 3X faster than podcasting, even though they were recently on a similar trajectory.  As recently as 2021, podcast advertising had been increasing faster than CTV.  What happened?

Big question #6: What are advertisers trying to accomplish with podcast ads?

Share of podcast advertising by objective:
1) Brand awareness – 42%
2) Direct response – 39%
3) Branded content – 12%
4) Brand mentions – 7%

Big question #7: What share of podcast ads utilize audience data overlays?

Share of podcast advertising utilizing audience data overlays:
1) 2022 – 38%
2) 2023 – 77%

Big question #8: How many podcasts are there?

Number of podcasts on Spotify (YoY growth):
1) 2018 – 185K
2) 2019 – 700K (↑ 278%)
3) 2020 – 2.2M (↑ 214%)
4) 2021 – 3.6M (↑ 64%)
5) 2022 – 4.0M (↑ 11%)
6) 2023 – 5.0M (↑ 25%)

Why this matters: The number of podcasts is growing 5X faster than ad spending. Last year, the average podcast generated 62% less ad revenue than in 2019!

Growth between 2019-23:
1) Ad spend – ↑ 172%
2) # of podcasts – ↑ 614%

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