Source: Podcasting's place in the ad-supported media universe (The Advertising Landscape report, June 2025)Source: Podcasting's place in the ad-supported media universe (The Advertising Landscape report, June 2025)Source: Podcasting's place in the ad-supported media universe (The Advertising Landscape report, June 2025)Source: Podcasting's place in the ad-supported media universe (The Advertising Landscape report, June 2025)

We bet you’ve heard some podcasts - be it professional-related or just for fun. Maybe you even follow some podcasts and listen to them regularly.

Taking into account that there are over 4.52 million podcasts right now, everyone can find something interesting.

At the same time, there are approximately 584.1 million podcast listeners worldwide. Of course, business owners and marketers cannot leave this fact behind.

Podcasts’ established popularity means it’s another channel to promote one’s products or services.

In this article, we will share how podcast advertising is going on. You will learn more about budgets, effectiveness, burdens, user preferences, and more. After this, you can make informed decisions about adding podcast advertising to your budget.

Podcast ad spending and revenue

Surely, the first thing we’d like to discuss is how the money flows in this type of advertising. Pre-assumption - taking into account that 158 million US citizens listen to podcasts, ad budgets will be impressive.

Global Podcast Ad Spending Trends: 2017–2027 (2024 Insights)

Global podcast ad spending has been growing fast. Since 2017, it has increased more than six times, and in 2027 it’s expected to reach around $5 billion worldwide.

Source: Estimated podcast advertising spending worldwide (Statista)

Remember we talked about podcast listeners' numbers at the very beginning? Well, the increase in ad spending directly correlates to the listeners' base.

While there were around 67 million listeners in 2017 and 87 million in 2019, right now, this number is 158 million in the USA, over 584 million globally and the number keeps growing. That means marketers have more chances to reach potential customers.

Moreover, if done right, listeners view podcast ads as “memorable, positive, and engaging.” So, no wonder we see the following dynamics in podcast ad spending.

Podcast ad revenue in the US 2024, by genre

Let’s find out what podcast types are the most popular in the US. According to Edison Research, the most beloved genres are as follows:

Comedy
Society&Culture
News
True Crime
Sports

This is the most current information and depicts the situation from January 2024 to March 2024. Based on 2024 data, Society & Culture has moved ahead of News and ranks #2.

So, do marketers get the most money from the same genres?

Well, the situation is slightly different here. (Yet, you need to take into account that Statista offers data based on 2023 analysis.)

Businesses receive top podcast advertising revenue from the next genres:

Comedy - 14% of revenue,
Sports - 13% of revenue,
News - 12 % of revenue.

Anyway, you can see that the top 5 podcast genres bring the most money. The correlation between a genre’s popularity and income is obvious.

For instance, sports podcast listeners are very engaged. There are lots of “die-hard” sports fans who switch to podcasts when the TV league ends. Normally, they listen to podcasts weekly, so it’s a great option for companies to activate for the goods or services.

Podcast ad revenue in the US by ad type

Now you know where you can put your ads to get better revenue. (Of course, your products should be related to the podcast’s topic.)

But how should hosts narrate your ads to deliver the best results? According to Statista:

55% of the podcast advertising revenue generate host-read ads,
40% of the podcast advertising revenue generate announcer-read/pre-produced ads.

Most possibly, host-read ads show better results as they feel more natural and native. Moreover, brands can use a storytelling approach to integrate advertisements more seamlessly into podcasts.

Yet, there is another ad type you can use. It is “branded content.” In this case, a section or the whole episode can be sponsored by a brand. Though it’s less popular than host-read ads or pre-produce ads, it seems to be gaining momentum.

Podcast ad revenue in the US by industry category

Now we know what genres can generate more revenue for your company and how to share your message. Podcast advertising spending is predicted to grow steadily in the near future, with 2025 figures estimated at $4.46 billion (according to Statista). But what industry did receive the biggest ad revenue last year?

According to Statista, in 2023 arts, entertainment, and media contributed 14% of the podcast advertising revenue in US, financial services ranked as the second leading industry with a 13% share in the U.S. podcast ad revenue that year.

And moving forward, the industries with the biggest budget increases in Q3 2025 show which industries will invest the most in podcast advertising.

Source: Industries with largest budget increases in Q3 2025 (Magellan AI)

As the infrastructure changes, more industries can find benefits from using podcast ads. Magellan AI shares ten industries that will spend more on ads in Q3 2025.

Financial Services (+8%).
Consumer Services & Software (+58%).
Business Services & Software (+36%).
Food (+38%).
Consumer Packaged Goods (+24%).
Women’s Clothing (+117%).
Nutritional Supplements (+26%).
Insurance (+62%).
Auto (+3%).
Phone, Internet, Cable (+28%)

So, if you operate in the same industries, you can spy a bit on the huge brands. Then, decide how you can incorporate your ads in podcasts.

Insights for marketers

Of course, people working in marketing think about where to put a company’s ad to get the most results. So, we’ve collected even more helpful information for you.

Usage of digital advertising in the US, by platform

Earlier, TV was the highest platform to gather and deliver ads to people. Then, the Internet joined during the past ten years.

We are not going to lie - these two platforms are the leading ones when it comes to digital advertising. Nonetheless, podcasting started to impact the platform share heavily.

The situation looks as follows:

42% of US advertisers stated that they used over-the-top (OTT) or connected TV (CTV) for advertising purposes,
23% of respondents stated they used in-podcast advertising for advertising purposes.

The growing popularity of putting ads within podcasts is quite explainable. This platform allows to:

Reach highly targeted audience,
Be more creative when marketing your company,
Build connections with influencers.

According to the The Advertising Landscape report from Sounds Profitable, podcasts with ads lead all media channels in triggering immediate purchases, with 22% of respondents reporting they bought something right after hearing a podcast ad.

Of course, this way of advertising is also more cost-effective than promoting on TV.

Source: Podcasting's place in the ad-supported media universe (The Advertising Landscape report, June 2025)

On-air radio and podcast ad spending per listener in the US

Surely, we cannot forget about radio as one of the most popular advertising channels. Gen Zers might find it unbelievable, but 88% of U.S. population listens to radio weekly.

People talk on the radio. People talk on podcasts. The spending for those channels is palpably different, though.

Advertisers spent an average of $52.1 on radio advertising per listener,
Advertisers spent an average of $13.7 on podcast advertising per listener.

So, marketing potential customers on the radio is much pricier. Moreover, the radio audience is very distorted. A podcast might bring you more targeted traffic.

Moreover, there are podcasts with a really huge audience. So, if your company has enough budget - we feel like it’s better to try podcast ads.

Leading obstacles to programmatic podcast advertising in the US 2025

Though promoting your company on podcast seems to be a worthy idea, marketers still find some obstacles.

44% of respondents said that reaching target audiences was the largest challenge in programmatic ad optimization,
38% mentioned staying on budget,
37% noted the ability to implement optimizations quickly and/or effectively.

Besides, AudienceX shares the next possible challenges:

Finding the right podcast audiences,
Control over ad placements,
Difficulty with cross-device targeting.

Those fears are clear. As mentioned earlier, podcasts have millions of listeners. But only a part of them will be excited about your product, and only a part of later will buy it. Also, ad placement has a huge impact on listeners. And you cannot always control it.

Insights about consumers in 2025

Another point that will help you make an informed decision about this type of advertising is consumer data.

According to a survey conducted in 2025 (Statista), 73% of respondents had ever listened to a podcast, compared to 29% in 2012. Yet, the numbers only grow. So does consumption frequency.

But let’s figure out how listeners react and percept podcast ads.

Podcast advertising effectiveness in the US 2025

One conclusion that we can make based on statistics is that ads on podcasts attract listeners' attention. 22% of them are ready to make an immediate purchase. And that’s a lot.

Source: What actions have you taken in the last six months with respect to ads on podcasts? (The Advertising Landscape report, June 2025 )

Of course, then goes only your work and effort. By this, we mean that your site’s homepage should be engaging and able to convert.

Anyway, a big percentage of listeners not only visit a site but also buy from the advertiser. Accordingly, podcast ads are effective now. They have not palled on listeners yet.

Preferred podcast ad types in the US 2025

We already know what ad types bring the most revenue (they are host-read ads, by the way). But do they match listeners' preferences?

Well, turns out that yes.

36% of listeners expressed a preference for host-read ads over other podcast ad formats, citing their conversational and personal tone.
Over two-thirds of respondents said they were likely to trust recommendations from podcast hosts

As you can see, people like ads to be organic. That said, if a podcast host personally reads the ad, it feels like a recommendation rather than selling a product.

Of course, it’s a company’s job to write the ad and make it sound native, relatable, and not aggressively promotional.

Podcast advertising effectiveness in the US 2025, by generation

By 2025, monthly podcast consumption increased across all generations, with listeners under 34 showing the highest consumption.

Source: The Podcast consumer 2025 (Edison research)

Podcasts also influence Gen Z: 43% discover new brands or products while listening, and many of them pay attention to brands sponsoring or collaborating with their favorite shows or hosts.

Moreover, other source shares slightly different statistics. According to it:

43% of 16+ Gen Zers have actually bought a product after hearing it advertised in a podcast,
44% of the 13 to 17 Gen Zers have asked someone to buy an advertised product for them.

And even bigger number of young listeners have visited the advertiser’s site. That’s why you can target centennials through various popular podcasts.

Podcast advertising effectiveness in the US 2025, by ethnicity

Based on Edison’s 2025 research podcast listenership among both groups has also grown compared to previous years:

58% of Black Americans are monthly podcast consumers,
51% of of Latino Americans are monthly podcast consumers.

At the same time, Statista reports that two ethnicities made the most purchases after listening to an ad:

38% of Hispanic respondents,
36% of Black respondents.

Conclusion

As you can see, podcast audiences are really diverse based on age, sex, and ethnicity. Now, approximately 158 million or 55% of the people in the United States listen to podcasts.

Given the huge amount of people engaging with this type of digital media, it can become an effective advertising platform.

Mostly statistics show that podcast ads are effective. They make listeners not only visit the advertiser’s site but also buy goods. So, this is your sign to allocate a budget for this type of advertisement.

Have you ever placed ads on podcasts? How efficient were they? Share your comments down below!

* Statistics without marked links refer to Statista source 1 and source 2.