Even after analysts at eMarketer have negatively adjusted their digital advertising forecast, the company still expects podcast revenue to grow in 2023.
The company has slashed its digital advertising outlook by more than $5 billion but still believes there will be growth in the digital audio space.
According to eMarketer, podcast advertising is expected to grow nearly 32% in 2023 to $2.2 billion. Expectations are that number will increase to $2.5 billion in 2024, saying the medium is a “relatively safe bet for advertisers during a tricky time.”
In their estimation, podcast listeners grew by 5% in 2022, with now 98.4 million Americans claiming to be weekly podcast listeners.
“Podcast growth is slowing in the U.S., but that’s merely a sign of the platform’s maturity. It still remains an opportunity with many advertisers who have overlooked the channel,” eMarketer told Inside Radio. “Despite a slight slowdown in podcast audience growth, the medium remains an underutilized advertising channel.”
The advertising forecast from eMarketer also includes the expectation that social media networks will be hit hardest by changing expectations in the marketplace. It surmised that advertisers will spend $71 billion on social media in 2023, $16 billion less than originally forecasted, with Facebook being the most affected.
