Saudi Arabia’s Podcast Boom: Breaking Records and Boosting Brands by Suzi Kuban
In November of 2022, Saudi podcast Finjan uploaded an episode that amassed 113 million views, making it one of the most-watched podcast episodes on YouTube globally. Podcasting in the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) region has grown steadily, despite not grabbing as many headlines. 2022 data from Next Broadcast Media, which specializes in the region, surveyed 1,316 respondents. Key findings include 55% of surveyed MENA podcast listeners take action as the result of hearing an ad on a podcast. While the Saudi Arabia podcast scene is doing well, there are relatively few podcasts produced in Arabic, leaving uncapitalized potential for growth.
Libsyn Ads Unveils August 2024 Podcast Advertising Rates
The monthly Libsyn Ads recap of podcast advertising CPM (cost per thousand impressions) on podcasts in their platform is now available. The average CPM for a 60 second podcast ad spot in August was $21.25, down $0.68 from July, and down $0.85 year over year. Breaking out of the average, the three highest-earning categories of the month were Health & Fitness with $24 CPM, and both Technology and Government tie for first with $29 CPMs. The average CPM of 60 second podcast ads for podcasts with larger audiences fared best in August, with 100,000+ listens per episode holding steady at $20.15, and the 10,000 to 99,999 listen range increasing 17 cents, up to $23.37.
Spreaker Create Beta Testing Now Open
Spreaker Create, a new addition to the Spreaker Podcasts app that allows wholesale creation of podcasts within the app is now in closed beta. Beta testers can now access the creation tools, templates, a library of sound effects and background music, and can publish episodes to a Spreaker podcast feed directly. Interested parties can apply for admission to the current iOS closed beta. Tools that streamline barriers to entry, be they financial limitations or skill-based presumptions, are a net positive for an industry built on empowering diverse, niche productions.
Magellan AI Introduces Reach Lift Measurement Product
The new Reach Lift podcast measurement product is being launched in a collaboration with Wondery. The tool aims to offer reach-related performance metrics and suggestions for optimizing reach on podcasts. In addition, Reach Lift tracks incremental reach delivered by a podcast network, unique reach delivered, and cost per unique reach across the totality of a digital and audio campaign.
As for the rest of the news…
- Analyst firm Madison and Wall predicts ad spend will hit $397 billion in 2024
- Sony Music has launched Origins with Cush Jumbo, which examines the lives of celebrities before their big break
