The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) expects podcast revenue in the United States to exceed $1 billion in 2021 and reach $2 billion by 2023.
The bureau revealed these predictions at its annual Podcast Upfront, as part of an advertising revenue study commissioned from PricewaterhouseCoopers.
PwC’s study showed that despite the podcast industry’s ad spend taking a slight dip during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, it bounced back to reach $842 million, a 19% year-over-year increase from 2019’s $708 million. In 2018, U.S.-based podcast advertising revenues totaled $479 million.
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The IAB believes this growth is not a temporary trend.
“Podcasting will grow in the next two years by leaps and bounds,” IAB Media Center vice president Eric John said at the Upfront, per Deadline. “Advertisers are benefiting from new technologies developed to serve these marketplaces, to make podcast advertising more dynamic and measurable than ever before.”
He added, “The big takeaway from consumer behavior pre, during, and post pandemic is that podcasting has tremendous growth ahead.”
The IAB isn’t alone in banking on podcasts long-term. Audio platform Spotify has spent hundreds of millions on podcast companies and content, and recently unveiled subscription plans for podcast creators; meanwhile, tech giants like Apple and Amazon are acquiring studios and shows at a breakneck pace, plus introducing homegrown shows fronted by celebrities and public figures.
