The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has shared new digital advertising projections, and podcast advertising is forecasted to see an increase in 2025.
A 7.9% year-over-year increase for podcast advertising is expected this year, according to the IAB. Other digital audio is expected to grow 4.7% overall.
In total, digital audio is expected to earn 10% of all advertising dollars, which is a significant forecast increase compared to previous projections.
Despite the increase for digital audio, the IAB had dropped its total advertising spending growth projections due to concerns about tariff increases. Previously, the organization shared that it expected a 7.3% increase in advertising budgets in 2025. That figure was decreased to 5.7% with the latest update.
“The marketplace reacts poorly to uncertainty,” IAB CEO David Cohen said. “The silver lining in all of this is that the overall attitude of buyers remains positive. Budgets may tighten somewhat, but they’re confident that digital media can deliver the measurable results they need.”
Results were in line with the IAB’s original 2025 projections. Total ad spending did grow by 7% in the first half of 2025. Despite that increase, 40% of the more than 200 businesses surveyed shared concerns about “macroeconomic headwinds and changing consumer habits.”
An additional 33% shared that they viewed difficulty in measurement as a challenge in increasing their advertising budgets.
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