Podcast advertisers have continually increased spending in the medium. That, however, appears to have slowed in April.
What We Know: The top two podcast advertisers, Quince and BetterHelp, each dropped their spending, according to Magellan AI. T-Mbole, Meta, Amazon, and McDonald’s acted similarly. 10 of the top 15 placed the majority of their budget on sports podcasts. Four used comedy shows as their biggest. One, Meta, saw news as its highest. The company analyzes data from the top 3,000 podcasts in the U.S.
What the Numbers Show: The combined spend by the top advertisers was $60.8 million. Of those 15, six actually decreased their spending during the month. Those declines led to an overall dip spent by the top 15 marketers. Combined, the top 15 spenders declined 6.3% from the prior month. The combined companies spent just under $65 million in March.
| Rank | Advertiser | April Spend | Spend Change | Top Genre |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Quince | $6.1 million | ▼ | Comedy |
| 2 | BetterHelp | $5.3 million | ▼ | Sports |
| 3 | Shopify | $5.1 million | ▲ | Comedy |
| 4 | UnitedHealth Group | $4.9 million | ▲ | Sports |
| 5 | Public.com | $4.3 million | ▲ | Sports |
| 6 | FanDuel | $4.1 million | ▲ | Sports |
| 7 | T-Mobile | $3.9 million | ▼ | Comedy |
| 8 | Progressive | $3.8 million | ▲ | Sports |
| 9 | Meta | $3.6 million | ▼ | News |
| 10 | DraftKings | $3.6 million | ▲ | Sports |
| 11 | Amazon | $3.4 million | ▼ | Sports |
| 12 | Toyota | $3.4 million | ▲ | Sports |
| 13 | Verizon | $3.2 million | ▲ | Sports |
| 14 | SimpliSafe | $3.0 million | ▲ | Comedy |
| 15 | McDonald’s | $3.0 million | ▼ | Sports |
What Remains Unclear: What, if anything, led to the downturn in spending. Quince decreased its spending by nearly $500,000. BetterHelp, the second highest spender, dropped it spending by nearly $700,000, Magellan AI data shows.
What It Means: The report from Magellan AI shows how strong the comedy and sports formats are for podcast advertisers. Despite the 6% slide from the top spenders, it doesn’t appear as if there’s cause for concern.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. Sign up for our newsletters to stay updated and get the latest information right in your inbox.
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.
