The Interactive Advertising Bureau report has reported that U.S. podcast advertising earned $314 million in revenue in 2017. This is a significant rise from $169 million reported in 2016, an almost 86 percent increase. According to the research, there would be even stronger returns in the years ahead, and according to the forecast, the revenue will rise to $659 million by 2020, which would be a triple-digit 110 percent rise from 2017.
The top preferred ad type was Host-read ads which constituted more than two-thirds of advertisements in 2017. The direct response ads took place in the majority of campaigns. The transaction on these ads was on a cost per thousand bases. Trailing behind were brand awareness ads which took up 29 percent. Additionally, integrated or edited ads into programming took up 58 percent of the podcast ad inventory in 2017.
Out of the 14 podcast content genre’s that were measured, the top 4 contributed for more than half of the advertising revenue in 2017. The stats are as mentioned below:
- Arts/Entertainment (17%)
- Technology (15%)
- News/Politics/Current Events (13%)
- Business (11%)
A further break down of the revenue revealed that advertisers who spent on podcasts, financial services had 18 percent share in this. Direct-to-consumer retailers accounted for 16 percent, and lastly, arts and entertainment took up 13 percent.
“These strong numbers speak to advertisers’ increasing recognition that podcasts provide a powerful platform for reaching and engaging audiences,” said Anna Bager, Executive Vice President, Industry Initiatives, IAB. “Advertisers that range from traditional financial services to direct brand retailers are tapping into the medium’s highly engaged audience. IAB has long been at the forefront of promoting the podcast marketplace, and we look forward to another action-packed IAB Podcast Upfront in the autumn, continuing to fuel the growth of this dynamic channel.”
“The growing trend toward ‘anywhere and everywhere’ media engagement has created tremendous opportunity for digital media, of which podcasting is a significant component,” said David Silverman, a Partner at PwC US. “Whether at home on a smart speaker, at work on a PC, or somewhere in between on a mobile device, more and more Americans are listening while they live, providing a robust podcast platform where advertisers can connect with today’s consumers.”
