Today in the Business of Podcasting
What types of podcast listeners are which types of consumers? By Brad Hill
New research from Signal Hill Insights and Triton Digital, identifies four types of listener: heavy listeners who listen to more than five hours a week, sports podcast listeners, music podcast listeners, and those new to podcasting. The data points present how different audiences are attuned to different consumer verticals. Compared to average podcast listeners, heavy listeners are 63% more likely to visit a quick service restaurant on a daily basis, and 31% more likely to see a movie in theaters at least once a month. New listeners are 15% more likely to shop online “a lot more than in person.” [Source]
Acast’s US bet pays off with 55% net sales growth in North America by Reem Makari
Acast’s latest interim report shows the company has increased its net sales by 32% year over year, which CEO Ross Adams largely attributes to positive growth in North America. The region has undergone a 55% y-o-y net sales increase, double the growth in Europe and ‘other markets.’ In addition to new podcasts, acquisitions, and product launches, Acast also reports operating loss has decreased 57% year-over-year. [Source]
Consumer attention and ad spend are mismatched. Where does that leave advertisers? By Sara Lebow
Attention is a precious commodity. According to Moat, average page dwell time has decreased 6.6 minutes since Q2 2022. The number of apps consumers use is also decreasing, according to Insider data from early October. As ad spend increases year over year, the more competition is created for a consumer’s time. With that in mind, it’s worth noting research (including Sounds Profitable’s study The Medium Moves the Message) shows podcasts are particularly effective at capturing an audience’s attention. [Source]
The Top 50 Podcasts in the U.S. Q3 2023 from Edison Podcast Metrics
A new quarter, a new Top 50 podcasts from Edison Research. This edition is built from surveys of 5,409 weekly podcast listeners aged 13 and up. Standup comic Theo Von’s new podcast This Past Weekend with Theo Von debuted last quarter and snagged 5th place. SmartLess has climbed four places from last quarter back up to 6th place. And Wondery’s Morbid reached 8th place, up from 12th in Q2. [Source]
Brands Still Test Interactive Voice Ads Years After Launch by Stephen Lepitak
A reflection on history of the interactive audio ad from its inception during the early days of smart speakers. While the field has been slow to start as it’s largely reliant on wide adoption of the tech, marketers remain positive about audio ads designed to get audiences engaging with their smart speakers to buy a product or get more information. Late last month Amazon announced they’re bringing interactive audio ads to Amazon Music, Amazon-owned podcasts, and podcasts of partner networks. While the field might be relatively young, podcasts are now able to use early lessons learned by the first smart speaker-focused advertisers. [Source]
…as for the rest of the news: BBC Studios grows its audio unit, The Hollywood Reporter covers a big investment in athlete-hosted video podcasts, and Succession takes home top podcast at the AdWeek Podcast Awards.
