The amount of podcast episode time dedicated to advertising continues to climb, but newly released data from Magellan AI shows the difference in ad loads depends on how big a show is. Magellan says during the first quarter that U.S. podcasts ranked in the top 500 had 9.77% of episode time dedicated to advertising. That compares to 7.95% for shows ranking 500 to 3,000, and 8.25% for shows beyond the top 3,000.
Magellan AI says across the board, each strata of podcast has more advertising today than a year ago. Among the top 500 shows, the amount of time for ads rose 57% during Q1 compared to a year earlier, when 6% of episode time went to advertising. And there were similarly sized gains for shows beyond the top 500.
Across U.S. podcasts overall, Magellan AI says 6.65% of episode time this year is going to advertising. That is up from 4.7% two years ago. “Since 2022, average ad load across episodes sampled increased a relative 49%. In just 2024 to date, ad load has jumped 20%,” it says. Magellan also points out that another 2% of episodes, on average, are dedicated to podcast promotional messages.
Magellan AI’s analysis shows the prevalence of advertising is most pronounced on shorter-length episodes. Among U.S. shows that run 15 minutes or less, it says nearly a quarter (21.9%) of the episode content is advertising. For shows 15 to 30 minutes, that falls to 11.7%, while shows 30 to 60 minutes average 9.1%. Magellan says shows that run longer than one hour average 6% ad time.
In data first presented at The Podcast Show 2024 in London this month, Magellan AI says a majority 55% of ads on U.S. podcasts were brand advertisements during Q1. Another 42% were direct response ads. Among the markets where Magellan operates, only Canada had a higher proportion of direct response ads, at 55%.
Magellan AI also reports that nearly two-thirds (63%) of the ads it tracked were sold directly versus 37% sold programmatically. It said the U.S. had the most programmatic ad sales of any country during Q1.
Download Magellan AI’s analysis HERE.
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