蘑菇AV

Your one-stop shop for all things digital audio in 2023.

The news: Podcasts are becoming a popular way for brands to reach engaged audiences, with viewership mounting and new platforms throwing their hats in the ring. Podcast viewership is thriving, reaching over 140 million US listeners in 2025, according to our forecast. Listeners will surpass 150 million by 2027. Our take: Podcasts are shaping up to become a strong contender in media consumption, with nearly 70% of US adults ages 18 to 24 listening at least one per month, per our forecast. As platforms battle to be the leading home for podcasts, advertisers need to pay attention and tailor strategies.

YouTube redefines podcasting: Video formats capture 43% of weekly podcast listeners, far outpacing traditional audio-only platforms.

Globally, its viewers outnumber the biggest social media, digital video, and digital audio platforms. And this is despite the fact that it has been banned in some highly populous countries (including China). YouTube also leads all other digital platforms for US time spent.

Streaming music, podcasts, and radio apps have changed the complexion of audio listenership in Canada. Over the past decade, digital audio has grown to a level that now rivals the traditionally strong radio listener base.

On today鈥檚 podcast episode, we discuss our 鈥榲ery specific, but highly unlikely鈥� predictions for 2025. What would happen if Google preemptively broke itself into smaller pieces, if online shopping flatlined, and if the audio ad space doubled in size in short order. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, Director of Reports Editing Rahul Chadha, and Senior Analysts Blake Droesch and Max Willens. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.

Some had been online for months. CNN sent a list of 26 fake podcasts marketing illegal drugs while posing as legitimate shows to Spotify. The platform promptly removed the content, with a spokesperson claiming that 鈥淸Spotify is] constantly working to detect and remove violating content across our service.鈥�.

Podcasts represent 0.9% of total digital ad revenues鈥攂ehind giants like digital video, but seeing steady growth. The digital ad industry overall proved resilient, with internet ad revenues growing 14.9% YoY, 鈥渄espite the volatility from geopolitical shifts, interest rate changes, and economic uncertainty,鈥� said IAB CEO David Cohen.

YouTube introduces new offerings for ads, podcasts: The platform aims to highlight its ability to reach audiences with unmatched versatile content options.

Traditional TV has long been losing time, and even some digital media鈥攍ike social networks鈥攁re starting to go backward. In this context, sub OTT鈥檚 4.5% growth this year seems relatively strong. Sub OTT is the most time-consuming digital media and trails only traditional TV among all media. Consumers spend far more time with sub OTT video than with social media or digital audio.

Ad revenues for digital pure players in retail media, social media, search, digital audio, and digital video are still expected to grow nearly 10%, reaching $293 billion. Retail and search ad formats will also grow 10% to reach $167 billion, and social media formats will grow 11% to $92 billion.

YouTube is the preferred platform for podcasts, and Netflix wants in: Marketers must recognize podcasts aren鈥檛 audio-only to effectively reach consumers.

Netflix, Patreon explore podcast potential: As competition in the podcast space heats up, brands are looking for unique value propositions to draw audiences.

On today鈥檚 podcast episode, we discuss our 鈥榲ery specific, but highly unlikely鈥� predictions for 2025. What would happen to the social media world if OpenAI bought Snap, what if Starbucks launched a Stablecoin, and why some companies might still want to buy linear networks. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, Vice Presidents of Content Suzy Davidkhanian and Paul Verna, and Principal Analyst Yory Wurmser. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.

On today鈥檚 podcast episode, we discuss the battle between linear TV and CTV, one mobile device metric that is going down, and a surprising finding about which age group uses YouTube the most. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, Principal Forecasting Writer Ethan Cramer-Flood, and Senior Director of Forecasting Oscar Orozco. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.

On today鈥檚 podcast episode, we discuss how advertisers have gone from navigating uncertainty to navigating whiplash, and how they can prioritize and get the most out of ad measurement with a limited budget. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, Senior Analysts Evelyn Mitchell-Wolf and Max Willens, and the Director of Product Management at Cint Stephanie Gall. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.

On today鈥檚 podcast episode, we discuss whether advertisers can still create powerful brand narratives in such a fragmented media universe, the best piece of advice for advertisers trying to negotiate a minefield of tariff-related changes, and how AI will impact advertising and marketing over the next 12 months. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, Vice President and Principal Analyst Jasmine Enberg, and Principal Analyst Sarah Marzano. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.

On today鈥檚 podcast episode, we discuss where GIFs came from, how GIF user behavior changes, and which ones work best for brands. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, Senior Director of Briefings Jeremy Goldman, Analyst Emmy Liederman, and the Vice President of Client Solutions at Giphy Alix McAlpine. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.

On this special edition podcast episode, learn about the rise of off-site retail media advertising with 蘑菇AV Principal Analyst, Sarah Marzano and Google鈥檚 Head of Retail Media, Shawn McGahee. This conversation is from the May 9th 蘑菇AV virtual summit, Commerce Media Trends 2025. Listen everywhere you find podcasts, or watch on YouTube and Spotify.