Q2 Podcast Ad Spending Surges 28% Year-Over-Year

RADIO ONLINE | Tuesday, August 12, 2025 | 3:34pm CT

Magellan AI

Podcast advertising spending continued its upward trajectory in the second quarter of 2025, climbing 28% year-over-year and 17% over Q1, according to Magellan AI's latest Podcast Advertising Benchmark Report. The analysis, based on nearly 95,000 episodes from top shows, found a total estimated ad load of 8.13% -- up slightly from 8% in the first quarter, though still down from 9.20% a year earlier.

Eight of the ten highest-spending brands from Q1 retained their positions in Q2, with Unilever joining the list for the first time. BetterHelp led with $16.4 million in spend, followed closely by Amazon ($15.9 million), Toyota ($14.4 million), and Quince ($12.8 million). FanDuel, DraftKings, Shopify, T-Mobile, State Farm, and Unilever rounded out the top 10, with the group collectively spending an estimated $128 million -- up 20% from the previous quarter.

Q2 saw 1,196 new brands enter podcast advertising - a 17% increase from Q1 -- with Sports podcasts appearing in 20% of their media plans. On average, these new advertisers spent $41,600 in the quarter, favoring mid-roll placements of about 49 seconds.

In terms of buying types, produced ads experienced the largest year-over-year jump at 76%, while host-read ads rose 31% and programmatic/run-of-network buys remained flat. Direct response campaigns accounted for 43% of market spend, brand awareness for 55%, and tune-in promotions for just 2%.

Among genres, Technology podcasts saw a notable increase in ad load, rising from 7.17% in Q2 2024 to 7.75% this year. Sports, News, and Comedy drew the largest shares of new advertisers, while True Crime episodes under 15 minutes had the heaviest ad load at 39%.

Top 500-ranked podcasts averaged $318,000 in monthly ad revenue in Q2, up 6% from Q1, while shows ranked 501-3,000 generated about $39,000 monthly. Episodes with a single advertiser accounted for 5% of all shows, most often in the Business, Technology, and Science categories.

Magellan AI's report suggests that continued category expansion, the influx of first-time advertisers, and growing brand awareness campaigns will sustain the industry's momentum heading into the second half of 2025.