Despite year-end advertising demand, the average CPM paid by podcast ad buyers declined by four percent during December. Nevertheless, Libsyn’s AdvertiseCast reports the average rate for 2022 climbed two percent last year to $23.87 for a 60-second spot, up from $23.30 in 2021.
“2022 was a breakout year in podcasting. Podcasts have become mainstream with explosive growth among younger and more diverse audiences who are embracing niche genres and new ways of listening,” said Dave Hanley, Chief Revenue Officer at AdvertiseCast. “In parallel, advertisers are increasingly drawn to the value of the medium as a highly effective, brand safe, and brand suitable environment to market their product or service – which we expect to grow in 2023.”
The podcast genre that had the highest CPMs in December was Technology at $27, up a dollar from a month earlier. Education was second at $26, followed by Business at $25.
The December average was down one percent from a year ago, as podcasts with fewer than 10,000 downloads continue to have the highest CPMs. In December the segment went for an average $25.90 CPM, a one percent drop month-to-month. A bigger drop came among shows with between 10,000 and 100,000 downloads as that segment’s average CPM fell five percent month-to-month to $24.18. The lowest CPMs are for shows with more than 100,000 downloads at $20.63 in December, a six percent month-to-month decline.
AdvertiseCast bases the cost per thousand or CPM from actual sales data from nearly 3,000 podcasts in its marketplace, including more than 225 exclusive podcasts. While there are month-to-month fluctuations, it says the typical one-minute ad has a $25 CPM while a 30-second ad typically has an average $18 CPM. That is the same as a year ago.