Brief:
- The revenue from podcasting ads within the U.S. grew 26% over the previous year to $1.8 billion, according to a recent report by PwC and the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PwC. The growth rate surpasses that of the overall digital ad market, which grew by 11% year-over-year.
- The IAB noted that macroeconomic pressures hadn’t stopped the momentum of podcasts. The trade association affirmed a positive outlook for the future of growth. The report estimates that the revenue generated by podcasts will nearly double by 2025, averaging almost $4 billion.
- It is the first time this has happened since news programming isn’t the top-producing content category in the field of podcasting. It is dominated by entertainment, culture, and sports. Comedy and demonstrates the channel’s appeal to a broad variety of consumers.
Insight:
It may appear as if podcasts have become overloaded with content; this diversification of categories is driving an increase in revenue from advertising, as per PwC, the IAB, and PwC’s most recent survey of the market for audio streaming. The report’s findings were presented on the website of IAB’s Podcast Upfront earlier in May.
The cost-effective podcasting industry has led to a broad variety of content appealing to passionate, niche audiences. 28% of the podcast’s ad revenue in 2022 was generated by advertisers in the smallest of categories like advocacy, home improvements, and education. The second highest category of advertisers included financial services (14 percent), followed by media, art media, entertainment, and entertainment (13 percent), as well as consumer packaged products (10 percent).
“It’s evident that the rise of podcasting is not merely an unintentional change in behavior,” said David Cohen, CEO of the IAB, in an announcement. “The diverse voices and the variety of content, which often focuses on underserved audience segments, has driven greater listeners and more time spent. It also has attracted an increasing number of advertisers.”
The projected revenue figures are a positive sign for the sector, which is under tension after explosive growth. Platforms that made significant investments in the area have started the year by reducing budgets and, in some instances, laying off employees. NPR, in March, cut four highly-rated podcasts in a larger series of cuts. A decline in listeners was apparent, particularly on the politics and news opinions podcasts in 2022, which slowed to just 12 percent in the marketplace, as per the IAB.
Despite the IAB promoting the growth of niche programming, studies have revealed an imbalance in how revenue is distributed. Within the 2 million English-language podcasts across the U.S., about 44% of the ad dollars are directed to the most popular 500 shows per independent information from Acast. These programs comprise 12 percent of the industry’s monthly reach.
Source:- https://www.marketingdive.com/news/iab-podcasting-ad-revenue-growth-outpaces-digital/650246/