Report shows podcast advertising is “Pandemic Proof”

Cumulus Media’s Westwood One partnered with Magellan AI to analyze podcast advertising occurrence data from the top 400 podcasts in the U.S. through Q3 2020.

The data showed that despite a dip in April, advertising recovered and even surged during the pandemic.

According to the report, March 2020 was a strong month for podcast advertising with a record number of ad detections. When the pandemic intensified in April, total ad occurrences dropped, but immediately started rebounding. By May, the number of unique podcast advertisers was nearly back to pre-pandemic levels.

Ad volumes grew each month throughout the summer and exploded in September. Compared to January 2020, September 2020 total podcast ad occurrences were up 58%. September 2020 saw a record 855 advertisers, an increase of 42% from April.

The study shows that depending on the network, advertising can represent 23% to 27% of programming. According to Magellan AI, advertising represents about 5% of podcast program content.

Throughout 2020, the average number of ads per podcast hovered slightly under three ads. In September, the number of ads per podcast jumped to 3.3, a 22% increase from April.