Digital Audio Ad Spending Forecast and Trends Q2 2024

US Audio Advertising Gets a Digital Boost, but It Still Trails Other Media

Report by Yoram Wurmser  | UPDATED: Apr 18, 2024
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Executive Summary
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Table of Contents
Executive Summary
Audio advertising continues to punch beneath its weight class
Audio advertising is small but rising thanks to digital
Audio generates relatively little ad revenues per listener and time spent
The shift to digital is more gradual in audio than video
Programmatic audio advertising remains a minority of digital ad sales despite its fast growth
Podcast advertising’s growth holds its lead
Pandora holds a shrinking lead in digital audio advertising
Diversifying audio listening behavior will create new audio formats
Media Gallery
About This Report
Although traditional radio advertising remains a $10.5 billion business in the US, it’s slowly shrinking. Digital audio advertising, by contrast, will grow 6.8% in 2024 to reach $7.12 billion.
Topics
Digital Ad Spending
US
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
Audio advertising continues to punch beneath its weight class
Audio advertising is small but rising thanks to digital
Audio generates relatively little ad revenues per listener and time spent
The shift to digital is more gradual in audio than video
Programmatic audio advertising remains a minority of digital ad sales despite its fast growth
Podcast advertising’s growth holds its lead
Pandora holds a shrinking lead in digital audio advertising
Diversifying audio listening behavior will create new audio formats
Media Gallery

The average US adult spends more than 2 and a half hours (2:42) each day listening to audio, but advertisers spend only 4.5% of their ad budgets on audio, predominantly in traditional radio. As digital audio services expand their ad-supported offerings, the digital share of audio advertising will approach parity by the end of the decade.

Key Question: Where is the growth in audio advertising, and how does it stack up against other advertising media?

Despite Shrinking Broadcast Radio Ad Revenues, Audio Ads Power Ahead Thanks to Digital Audio
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Key Stat: Digital audio will grow at a solid 6.8% rate in 2024 to reach $7.12 billion, but it will still account for just 40.4% of audio revenues.

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Table of Contents

  1. Executive Summary
  2. Audio advertising continues to punch beneath its weight class
  3. Audio advertising is small but rising thanks to digital
  4. Audio generates relatively little ad revenues per listener and time spent
  1. The shift to digital is more gradual in audio than video
  2. Programmatic audio advertising remains a minority of digital ad sales despite its fast growth
  3. Podcast advertising’s growth holds its lead
  4. Pandora holds a shrinking lead in digital audio advertising
  1. Diversifying audio listening behavior will create new audio formats
  2. Media Gallery

Charts in This Report

Despite Shrinking Broadcast Radio Ad Revenues, Audio Ads Power Ahead Thanks to Digital AudioDigital Audio Has the Lowest Ad Spend per User of Any Major Ad Medium
Audio Advertising Generates Far Less Ad Spend per User Hour Than Other MediaAudio Advertising Has Shifted to Digital More Gradually Than Video Advertising Has
Programmatic Audio Only Produces a Quarter of Digital Audio Ad Spending–but Growth Is FastPodcast Ads Will Earn More Than a Third of Digital Audio Ad Revenues Next Year
Spotify Continues to Catch Up to Pandora in Digital Audio Ad ShareWhile Ad Spending on Pandora Shrinks, Spending on Spotify Grows by Double Digits
Only About Half of US Digital Audio Listening Occurs on Mobile Devices

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First Published on Apr 17, 2024

authors

Yoram Wurmser

Contributors

Ross Benes
Senior Analyst
Andrew Spink
Forecasting Analyst
Max Willens
Senior Analyst