IAB Upfront Message: Podcasts Now Core To Media Plans.

The podcast industry gathered for the IAB Podcast Upfront in New York on Tuesday with a message for buyers that what may have once been a budget add-on is now worthy of a more substantial investment.

“If you're still on the sidelines, the message is simple,” said David Cohen, the CEO of the IAB. “Podcasts are no longer optional. They are central to how consumers spend their time, their attention, and their trust.”

There is evidence that the message is catching on. Podcasting reclaimed the crown as the fastest-growing digital media last year, and new data shows it will be hard to beat in 2025. The ad tracking firm Guideline says podcast ad spending is pacing to increase by 33% this year, which based on data from the IAB, would mean industry revenue will cross the $3 billion threshold this year for the first time.

IAB Media Center Matt Shapo said that what is a podcast is a debate that is now up for debate, thanks to the growth of video series. “Podcasts are no longer defined only by audio consumption,” he said. But regardless of the definition, the ad trends are clear. Shapo said video ad spending is pacing up 97.7% from a year ago, with video ads now accounting for 7% of podcast revenue.

At the same time, Guideline says audio ads, which still represent the majority of podcast ad spending, are growing at more than 30.1% year-to-year.

Guideline data shows gains in key categories such as travel services (+117.5%), pharmaceutical (+59.3%), consumer packaged goods (+50.4%), automotive (+41.2%), and technology (+37.5%). Shapo said that each of the gains in podcast spending overshadow increases in other media, which he said “demonstrates gathering momentum” for the industry.

The data reflects a shifting mindset among buyers. Shapo pointed to a June survey of 300 marketers and ad agencies by Advertiser Perceptions that found 69% said they would “definitely” invest in podcasting, up from 10% in 2015. “And if you look at the percentage of respondents who currently advertise in podcasts, that number has grown at a similarly dramatic rate,” he said.

Advertising Perceptions says 78% of the brands and agencies it surveyed currently advertise in podcasts. That is a 400% increase compared to the 15% who said that a decade earlier.

Maria Tullin, Managing Director of Performance Audio at Horizon Media, credits the way the ecosystem is changing, with different publishers focusing on big shows, while others zero-in on medium-sized titles.

“Brands are kind of getting more excited that weren't excited before,” Tullin said. “It's creating an opportunity for more branding-type clients to get involved that maybe weren't thinking about it before because they're seeing those big names. My hope is that once they see success with some of those bigger-name celebrity shows, they'll also trickle down into the rest.”

Cohen said the 2024 podcasting upfront has been characterized by momentum, but he believes the story this year is one focused on a maturing sector of the ad marketplace.

“Podcasting is no longer on the edges of the marketing mix. It is firmly at the center, and the questions that we're asking now aren't if podcasts belong, but how best to optimize them, to prove their return on investment and scale their role across or alongside other channels,” Cohen said. “That shift reflects a change that this market has come into its own, both globally and in the U.S.”

Research shows more than half of Americans now listen to podcasts at least monthly, and Conal Byrne, CEO of the iHeartMedia Digital Audio Group, pointed out gains have been made among all age groups.

“Podcasting is, at a minimum, a mass reach medium that should be a part of every marketing strategy, every media plan you put out into the world,” he told buyers.

There have been corresponding increases in the amount of time people are listening. “We're nearing an hour a day of podcast listeners consuming podcasts,” iHeartPodcasts President Will Pearson added.

The hybrid behavior of both audio and video consumption is helping. Cohen thinks that will create not only new opportunities for storytelling, but also new ways for brands that meet consumers where they are. “But what really, truly differentiates this medium isn't just its depth. Podcast audiences don't just tune in. They lean in, they form relationships with hosts, and they trust what they hear. That makes podcasting uniquely powerful,” he said.