March is typically the most active month of the first quarter and that helped push the average CPM paid by marketers up by one dollar last month. Libsyn’s AdvertiseCast says the average CPM rate was $23.07 for a 60-second spot during April, a four percent increase from March.
It was down, however, on a year-to-year basis by three percent, reflecting changes in the ad marketplace. The April 2022 average CPM rate was $23.84.
The podcast genre that had the highest CPMs during March was Technology at $28 – a two dollar jump from March’s average for the genre. Education remained the second most expensive with an average $26 CPM, up one dollar from a month earlier. Business ranked third with a $25 average, also up a buck.
But AdvertiseCast says there are still bargains for brands to take advantage of, with more accessible CPM rates in genres inducing Arts, Music, and Fiction, which averaged around the low twenties during April.
Podcasts with between 10,000 and 100,000 downloads have had the highest CPMs for two consecutive months. In March, the average was $24.39, up three percent from March. Podcasts with fewer than 10,000 downloads have led the CPM rate during the past three years, but that segment’s average CPM was $23.39, up two percent month-to-month. AdvertiseCast says shows with more than 100,000 downloads continue to have the lowest CPMs. But that segment’s average increased the most, up eight percent to $21.34 last month.
Dave Hanley, Chief Revenue Officer at Libsyn’s AdvertiseCast, says the reason the segment with the highest CPM rates is in flux is because more publishers are transitioning from baked-in ads to dynamic ad insertion. While that is usually thought of as selling a great amount of inventory at the same rates, in reality Hanley says CPMs come down because once they incorporate the “bonus” impressions delivery, after the initial 30-day period the effective CPM is lower. “After dynamic ad insertion is incorporated into a show, the rates come down accordingly to account for this phenomenon,” Hanley explains. He says that is especially true for direct response ad buys. Hanley also says that since many of the larger podcasts in AdvertiseCast’s network have transitioned to dynamic ad insertion, it has also had an outsized impact on their monthly statistics.
AdvertiseCast bases the cost per thousand or CPM from actual sales data from about 2,900 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.
Libsyn will show off AdvertiseCast and its new shows during this week’s 2023 IAB Podcast Upfront where it is a VIP sponsor. Chris Bowlby, Head of Brand Partnerships at Libsyn’s AdvertiseCast, and Meredith Krantz, Director of Brand Partnerships at Libsyn’s AdvertiseCast, will both be on hand to delve into the opportunities available to advertisers.
“We’ve seen a real shift from advertisers taking a test-and-learn approach to fully integrating podcasting into their media strategy,” said Hanley. “As advertisers look to optimize their investment strategies, we continue to provide additional tools and solutions to show the efficiency and efficacy of their campaigns in a much more precise and transparent way.”