The podcast industry is maturing. That led to revenue growth for a large majority of companies in the space.
What We Know: According to data from Owl & Co, global podcast revenue grew to $9.2 billion in 2025. That’s a 23% increase compared to 2024, when it finished at $7.5 billion. Despite the revenue only growing 23%, many companies reported revenue growth.
What The Numbers Show:
| Podcast Business Performance vs. 2024 | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Significantly Better | 37% |
| Somewhat Better | 37% |
| Flat or Worse | 27% |
Question: How was 2025 for your company’s podcast business compared to 2024?
What They Said: “Video is changing the picture. We built the report from over 300,000 data points across 1,600+ publishers, and spoke with more than 100 podcast publishers and experts around the world. The same pattern kept surfacing: publishers that treated video as a monetization layer, not just a discovery channel, grew revenue the fastest.” -Owl & Co founder Hernan Lopez
What It Means: Video podcasting is driving the revenue growth. The companies that reported better revenue generation in 2025 almost universally praised the video element — especially YouTube — for its growth. 41% of net podcast revenue comes from video. That is up from 28% in 2024. Additional inventory was also viewed as a driver of podcast revenue growth.
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Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing daily news stories, features, and opinion columns. He joined Barrett Media in 2022 after a decade leading several radio brands in several formats, as well as a 5-year stint working in local television. In addition to his work with Barrett Media, he is a radio and TV play-by-play broadcaster. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.
