Forecast: Digital Ad Revenue To Experience Substantial Growth

According to eMarketer, digital audio advertising is set to experience substantial growth in 2024. Here are some key points:

Projected Growth: Digital audio advertising is expected to grow by 6.8% this year, reaching a total of $7.12 billion USD. This impressive growth accounts for 40.4% of all audio ad revenues. Reasons cited for Growth: 

Increased Listenership: The number of digital audio listeners is on the rise. By 2024, digital audio is estimated to constitute one-fifth of all time spent with digital media in the U.S. Nearly 75% of U.S. internet users will engage with digital audio this year, spending an average of 2 hours and 20 minutes per day listening to it—more time than spent on platforms like Netflix, Hulu, or YouTube video1.

Steady Podcast Growth: Although the double-digit growth phase for podcast listeners has ended, podcasts continue to gain listeners faster than digital audio overall. By 2023, the U.S. podcast audience is expected to surpass 150 million. However, challenges remain, including measurement capabilities and the transition from embedded to dynamic ad insertion1.

Sticky Audio Platforms: Adult users of platforms like Spotify and Pandora spend significant time listening to audio daily, surpassing most social media platforms. This widespread reach provides opportunities for effective marketing across different stages of the funnel1.

Podcast Ad Spending: By the end of 2024, eMarketer predicts that podcast advertising will be an almost $2.6 billion market, doubling its estimated size from the previous year.

According to eMarketer, digital will account for more than 47% of audio ad dollars by 2028 when total audio advertising spend is projected to reach $18.42 billion.

The updated outlook for the ad market concluded audio advertising has shifted to digital at a slower pace that what has occurred in video.  For example television advertising has shown double-digit declines in years when political advertising doesn’t fill in the gaps, while AM/FM radio has seen a more gradual, low single digit erosion as digital audio advertising pulled away dollars from traditional radio.