Forecast: Podcast Revenue To Skyrocket

U.S. podcast advertising revenues are forecasted to skyrocket to more than $220 million in 2017, an uptick of 85 percent over the $119 million recorded in 2016, according to the first-ever IAB Podcast Advertising Revenue Study released Monday by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and conducted by PwC US.

The research, which covers 2015, 2016, and offers estimates for 2017, is the only analysis driven by direct, first-party data on podcast ad revenues, and provides valuable insights into podcasting’s momentum, showing that revenues have grown 73 percent between 2015 and 2016.

Findings in both 2015 and 2016 show that marketers prefer ads read by podcast hosts to those that are pre-produced. Last year saw more revenue generated by dynamically inserted ads for the first time. Direct response campaigns continue to be the most prevalent campaign type, with brand awareness and branded content campaigns increasing from 2015 to 2016. (The 2017 estimates are solely top line, and therefore cannot be broken down in detail as done with the two previous years.)

This study draws on historical data compiled directly from 20 of the industry’s largest players and encompasses all forms of podcast advertising to provide a reasonable measurement of podcast advertising growth. This research comes on the heels of the full year 2016 IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report, which included the first market sizing of the digital audio space. That report showed digital audio ad formats brought in revenues of $1.1 billion, which did not include the 2016 revenues from the podcast advertising market.

“The IAB Podcast Advertising Revenue Study proves two things—the whole world is listening, and brands are taking notice,” said Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO, IAB. “From the remarkable growth of podcast ad revenue, we’re seeing an ancient axiom being proved yet again: great rewards go to those who surprise and delight their fellow humans.”