Report: US podcast ad revenue hits $1.4bn in 2021
May 9, 2022
The explosive revenue growth of podcast advertising reached a new high in 2021, racing well past the $1 billion (€0.95bn) mark to $1.4 billion.
Podcast advertising grew 2X faster in 2021 (+72 per cent) than the total internet ad market according to the sixth annual IAB U.S. Podcast Advertising Revenue study, prepared for IAB by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
“Everything right now is aligned to drive growth. There’s more engaging and diverse podcast content than ever, and that is translating into larger, more attractive audiences,” said Chris Bruderle, Vice President, Research & Insights, IAB. “But more than anything, podcasting has proven that it can deliver beyond direct-to-consumer advertising to support brand-building and drive business outcomes.”
According to the report, there are three key factors helping to drive podcast ad revenue growth:
- More listeners and more content
- A continually expanding user base that is consuming a growing library of engaging and diverse content.
- Increased use of automated ad tech
- The share of ad revenue served via Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI) has almost doubled in two years to 84 per cent as now both host-read and announcer-read ads are largely being served with this functionality (84 per cent and 85 per cent, respectively).
- Growing investment across more ad categories
- The share of ad revenue generated within categories with lower spend volumes has more than tripled in just two years from 8 per cent to 28 per cent.
What’s ahead for podcasting
“The report indicates significant growth ahead, with advertisers buying podcast impressions at scale while tracking delivery, effectiveness, recall and results.” said Eric John, Vice President, IAB Media Center. “Buyers will expect advanced brand safety solutions, audience targeting, and measurement, and we look forward to working across the ecosystem to create standards that serve creators, listeners, publishers and brands.”