Advanced Television

Forecast: US podcast revenues at $4bn by 2025

May 11, 2023

Podcasting continues to be one of the fastest growing digital channels, growing two times faster than digital advertising overall, according to IAB’s US Podcast Advertising 2022 Revenue & 2023-2025 Growth Projections study, released during IAB’s Podcast Upfront. 

The seventh annual study, prepared for IAB by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), quantifies annual podcast advertising revenues generated over the past year, analyses revenue share by ad category and content genre, and forecasts future revenues through 2025. The study shows that podcasting ad revenue in the US was up 26 per cent YoY in 2022. Revenues are predicted to more than double by 2025 to $4 billion.

Sports, Society & Culture and Comedy are Top Revenue-Generating Content Genres 

Sports (15 per cent), Society & Culture (14 per cent), and Comedy (14 per cent) are now the top revenue-generating content genres, taking the lead from News and Political Opinion content (down from 19 per cent to 12 per cent). 

“In-person sports, lifestyle events, and in-store shopping have come back in a big way, taking the lead from news which held the top revenue genre spot since 2018,” said Eric John, Vice President, Media Center, IAB. “Podcasting revenue naturally reflects that shift in consumer behaviour and it will be interesting to watch how the balance changes going forward.”

Category Diversification and the Democratisation of Podcast Advertising

Podcasting continues to evolve as an ideal medium for niche audiences, attracting advertisers in a wide range of categories including Advocacy, Education, Home Improvement, and beyond. These smaller categories, collectively, are driving 28 per cent of all revenues.

“Both mass and niche advertisers like the audiences, targeting, and ROI along with the brand-safe and suitable environments that podcasting offers,” added John.

The low cost of podcast production has led to an ever-widening array of diverse voices providing authentic content that niche audiences crave. 

“It’s clear now that the growth of podcasting was not just a temporary shift in behaviour,” said David Cohen, CEO, IAB. “The diversity of voices and content — often targeting underserved audiences — is driving more listenership and more time spent, and that is attracting more advertisers.” 

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