The US – home to mega-shows such as The Joe Rogan Experience – accounts for nearly half (45.9%) of all global podcast ad spend.
Recent research by WARC and Audacy found that, while podcast listening accounts for 4.5% of all ad-supported US media consumption, the channel only receives 1.0% of total US ad investment ($2.4bn in 2025).
Retail continues to be the category with the highest podcast ad spend in the US, while the US election prompted a slight increase in government and non-profit spend. Food category spend remains low, but is forecast to record the fastest growth in 2026 (+13.2%).
As the medium matures, larger brands are becoming a more dependable source of income for podcast publishers. Top podcast spenders in the US include Amazon, T-Mobile, Capital One and Toyota.
Podcasts are becoming more important to political discourse
Donald Trump triumphed in the ‘podcast election’. His podcast strategy was more effective than that of rival Kamala Harris, achieving greater reach with shows known for delivering better returns for brands. Trump appeared on podcasts with a total average reach of 23.5 million compared to 6.4 million for Harris, and the shows selected by Trump drove 2-3x better results for brands in areas such as site visits, sign-ups and purchases.
According to Edison Research, nearly half (44%) of those surveyed by them said they sourced US election information from podcasts, ahead of cable TV (34%) and platforms like X (33%).
No comments:
Post a Comment