With subjects ranging from true crime to deep science to fiction and celebrity chats, it’s not hard to think that the podcasting space may be too saturated with content to be worth the investment.
Yet, this diversity of content may be the sector’s secret weapon. According to a new report from the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PwC, advertising revenues for podcasts reached $1.8 billion in 2022, a 26% jump over the previous year.
That growth far outpaces the total internet ad market, which was up 11% year-over-year. Meanwhile, the channel shows no signs of slowing. The report projects revenues to more than double, reaching nearly $4 billion, by 2025.
In the report, the companies cited podcasting’s low cost of entry, which has led to a widening array of content that appeals to passionate niche audiences that are attractive to advertisers. In fact, the channel’s largest ad segment was “Other,” which accounted for 28% of all revenues. That segment included several low-revenue categories like advocacy, home improvement and education that, when taken together, outpaced all the other higher-revenue categories. The next highest category of advertiser is financial services (14%), followed by arts, entertainment and media (13%) and CPG (10%).
The range of topics is also evidenced by a shift in the top revenue-generating categories. For the first time since 2018, news programming is no longer the top genre. Sports, society and culture, and comedy programming each generate more advertising revenues than news, according to the report.
“In-person sports, lifestyle events, and in-store shopping have come back in a big way, taking the lead from news and opinion, which held the top revenue genre spot since 2018,” said Eric John, vice president of the IAB’s Media Center, in a statement. “Podcasting revenue naturally reflects that shift in consumer behavior and it will be interesting to watch how the balance changes going forward.”
