Report: Podcast Ad Spend Climbs in First Half of 2025

RADIO ONLINE | Tuesday, September 2, 2025 | 2:24pm CT

Magellan AI

Podcast advertising continued its upward trajectory in the first half of 2025, with new industries and brands expanding into the medium and top spenders increasing investments, according to Magellan AI's midyear report released at Podcast Movement 2025.

Magellan AI tracked ad activity across more than 50,000 podcasts worldwide and found U.S. ad spend in the space climbed steadily compared to 2024. Monthly spend growth ranged from 116% to 134% year-over-year, showing sustained momentum.

Top Advertisers and Industries

The top 10 advertisers invested a combined $231 million in podcast ads during the first half of 2025, up nearly 2% from late 2024. BetterHelp led with $31.3 million in spend, followed by Amazon ($26.8 million), Toyota ($25.2 million), DraftKings ($24.2 million), and Quince ($23.3 million). LinkedIn and Unilever returned to the top 10 for the first time since before 2024.

Financial services emerged as the biggest spending category, with $195.1 million in podcast ads, a 49% increase from a year ago. Business services and software ($135.2 million, up 51%) and consumer services and software ($121.2 million, up 58%) also saw significant growth. Gambling, auto, and nutritional supplements rounded out the top categories.

Recruiting was the fastest-growing sector, surging 72% to $32.3 million. Eyewear, pet products, web hosting, and shoes each posted gains of more than 25%.

Changing Ad Strategies

Podcast advertisers are increasingly splitting budgets between direct response and brand awareness. Average monthly spend rose 21% year-over-year for direct response campaigns and 29% for brand awareness. By mid-2025, brand awareness made up 53% of overall spend, compared to 45% for direct response.

Ad loads shifted slightly lower, averaging 8.07% of episode time in the first half of 2025, down from 8.97% a year earlier. That translates to roughly 32 seconds less ad time per episode. However, certain categories, such as sports podcasts over 60 minutes in length, carried ad loads exceeding 19%.

New Brands Entering the Space

A wave of new advertisers also joined podcasting this year. More than 2,200 brands entered the space in H1 2025, with an average first-month spend of $19,185. Sports podcasts attracted the largest share of new advertisers (18%), followed by news (14%) and comedy (10%).

Looking Ahead

Magellan AI notes that some brands historically increase podcast spend significantly in the second half of the year, particularly Ford, Zola, and GiveWell. With ad loads already reaching a new high of 10.9% among top 500 shows in July, the back half of 2025 could bring further growth and competition in the market.