Study: All Podcast Ad Formats Are Extraordinarily Effective

Cumulus Media

So which podcast ads work best? Live reads, talent pre-recorded ads or pre-produced programmatic executions? A new study from Tom Webster and Bryan Barletta of Sounds Profitable called "After These Messages" looks at these ad formats and answers the question. This week's Cumulus Media | Westwood One Audio Active Group blog outlines the findings.

Sounds Profitable podcast ad format study: All perform well while talent-read ads (live or recorded) do the best, justifying the premium nature of podcast host reads.
The podcast ad frequency problem: "Remind the many, don't lecture the few." Podsights, the podcast attribution firm, recently released their Q3 2022 Benchmark Report, and while podcast ad frequency levels improved in Q2, they are still a concern, negatively impacting conversion rates. In Q2 2022, podcast conversion rates improved slightly but are still below recent quarters.
Three strategies to grow podcast campaign reach: Buy more shows and genres than the "obvious fit" podcasts, purchase genres and shows based on reach among category buyers, not index, and spread impressions further down the ranker and buy more than just top shows.

Latest Radio Stories

Michael Johnson Jr. Named PD for iHeart Hartford

Michael Johnson Jr.

iHeartMedia Hartford and New Haven has appointed Michael Johnson Jr. as Program Director for its Sports and Talk outlets, effective immediately. In his new role, Johnson will oversee WUCS (Fox Sports 97.9), home of the UConn Sports Radio Network, along with WPOP-AM (NewsRadio 1410) in Hartford and 960 More

Podtrac April Rankings Show Modest Podcast Gains

Podtrac

Podtrac has released its Top U.S. and Global Podcast Publishers & Networks rankings along with its Top U.S. Podcast chart for April 2026, showing modest month-over-month gains across several participants and the addition of a new publisher to the list. Among U.S. publishers and networks, six participants More

Smigel Launches ''Humor Me'' Podcast on iHeart

''Humor Me With Robert Smigel & Friends''

iHeartMedia and Will Ferrell's Big Money Players podcast network have launched a new comedy podcast, "Humor Me With Robert Smigel & Friends," which debuted May 8. Hosted by Emmy Award-winning writer, producer and comedian Robert Smigel, the weekly show features a rotating panel of comedy writers and More

Christian Cultural Center Returns to WMCA

Salem Media

Salem Media Group has announced the return of Christian Cultural Center to the lineup of WMCA (570/102.3 The Mission) in New York, with a new weekday program hosted by Pastor Jamaal Bernard. Beginning May 18, the program will air weekdays at 5:30am ET, reaching listeners across the New York Tri-State area. More

Saga Q1 Revenue Falls, Net Loss Widens

Saga Communications

Saga Communications reported first quarter 2026 net revenue declined 5.6% to $22.9 million, down from $24.2 million in the same period a year ago. Station operating expense was essentially flat, decreasing 0.2% to $22 million. The company posted an operating loss of $3.3 million More

MapQuest Adds iHeartRadio Streaming to Platform

iHeartRadio

MapQuest and iHeartRadio have announced a new partnership that integrates live iHeartRadio streaming directly into MapQuest.com, marking the first time audio has been built into the navigation platform. The integration allows users to listen to live radio while navigating, with a new "Live Radio" button More

Return to Menu

Study: All Podcast Ad Formats Are Extraordinarily Effective

Latest Radio Stories

Follow us on:

Copyright © 1989-2026 RADIO ONLINE ^®

Study: All Podcast Ad Formats Are Extraordinarily Effective

Latest Radio Stories

Follow us on:

Copyright © 1989-2026 RADIO ONLINE ®

Copyright © 1989-2026 RADIO ONLINE ^®