Our top line: Podcasting in the US will cross the $1 billion mark this year, and its ascent will continue. Per our latest forecast, podcast ad spending will exceed $2 billion by 2023. We upgraded our growth estimates due to the 36.8% spike in ad spending during 2020, which will be followed by growth of 38.7% this year and 31.1% in 2022. We previously expected 10.4% growth in 2020.
Driving the update: Podcast advertising in H2 2020 recovered faster than anticipated, audience numbers continued to climb, and digital audio is now a staple in many people’s media diets. Podcasting has also benefited from companies like Spotify, Amazon, iHeartMedia, and others buying and publicizing content studios and ad tech companies alike.
A silent dichotomy: The slew of acquisitions and major moves from…