US Podcast Revenue (2021–2025)
Podcasting is one of the newest digital marketing tools available on the market, especially when compared to other more traditional channels like social media. Nevertheless, its potential to build brand image, establish credibility, and ultimately grow a business is immense.
This is shown by the growth in podcast revenue that’s forecast over the next few years. The latest statistics show that in 2021, podcasting revenue in the US is expected to hit $1.33 billion. To put things in perspective, this figure is expected to grow 31.1 percent year over year and increase further to $1.74 billion by next year.
And to further highlight the tremendous growth, US podcast ad revenue is set to surpass the $2 billion mark in 2023. It will continue to rise to $2.74 billion by 2025, effectively more than doubling the revenue in just four years. This is also an average annual growth rate of 20.05 percent.
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A deeper look at the podcast revenue distribution in the US shows that in 2020, the most popular type of ads run on podcasts is those read by the hosts. In fact, more than half (56 percent) of the revenue came from these host-read ads.
This is followed by ads read by announcers or pre-produced ads, which accounted for 35 percent of the total podcasting revenue share in the US.
Together, these top two ad formats made up a whopping 91 percent of the US’s podcast ad revenue in 2020. The remaining nine percent come from supplied ads, which refer to audio ads that are produced by the brand or agency themselves.
Podcasts’ Increasing Popularity Driving Podcast Revenue
One of the biggest drivers behind the increasing podcast revenue in the US is its growing user base. In 2021, 57 percent of US consumers say they listen to podcasts. This is a two percentage point increase from the 55 percent in 2020.
In fact, podcasts have become increasingly popular in recent years. Apart from a slight two-percentage-point dip in 2013, the number of podcast listeners in the US has been increasing steadily since 2006. From 2006 to 2021, the number of consumers listening to podcasts has risen by 12.59 percent per year on average.