In yesterday’s Infinite Dial 2023 report conducted by Edison Research (RAIN coverage HERE) we saw growth stories for online audio generally, and podcasting in particular. Key points:
American listening to online audio grew from 73% in 2022 to 75% in the 2023 survey. That’s an estimated 214-million people who engage in some kind of online listening, and an ever-growing majority of Americans who are positioned for podcast consumption.
- Podcast listening in the car leaped from 32% to 37% of monthly car users.
- Monthly podcast listening now at 120-million people, a 42% survey response rate.
- Weekly podcast listening, a key indicator of high-level engagement, grew from 26% to 31% (estimated 89-million people).
As reach expands, we learn that ad rates are dropping — perhaps not a surprise. In most markets, higher volume generally means lower cost to the buyer, so the two reports are not necessarily contradictory.
Even so, the latest monthly report of ad rates, provided by Libsyn-owned AdvertiseCast (see HERE), shows CPM (cost per thousand spots) dropping to three-year lows.
We see the average cost of a thousand spots at $22.06. That compares to $25.40 a year ago, and $23.53 in December. These data are gleaned from nearly 3,000 podcasts in the AdvertiseCast Marketplace.
