Podcasting will remain one of the fast-growing digital channels this year, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau. While it is not expected to post the double-digit gains of last year, the IAB forecasts podcast ad revenue will climb 7.4% in 2025. That is above the 4.8% increase projected for digital audio not including podcasts.
The ad market for podcasting remains strong, according to most publishers, and the IAB’s slower growth forecast estimates reflect a maturing industry where increases are smaller in size — but bigger in terms of dollars. Even the medium with the biggest predicted growth rate, CTV, will not see the increases of a year ago. And while the IAB is predicting across-the-board gains for each of the digital channels it tracks, the trade group forecasts traditional media will see total ad revenue decline 1.5% this year due to the lack of cyclical events like the election.
The IAB believes that podcasts and other digital audio will see its share of overall spending shrink in 2025 as more money goes into social media and paid search. It forecasts podcasting will take a 3.6% share of media spending, down from 5.4% last year. And digital audio excluding podcasts will have a 3.3% share, down from 3.6% last year.
The IAB’s 2025 outlook predicts overall ad spending will continue to grow this year, but not at the pace of a year ago without big events like the presidential election or the Olympics. Its survey of buyers anticipates a more modest growth rate of 7.3% in 2025, compared to an estimated 11.8% growth rate last year.
Retail media ad networks are projected to be the fastest-growing channel in 2025, growing at twice the rate of ad spend overall at 15.6%. But its increase is smaller than last year. The IAB says that indicates that while buyers still value benefits like proximity to commerce, but challenges such as ecosystem fragmentation, lack of standardization, and rising costs are likely prompting pullbacks.
“This report clearly shows that budgets are being focused at the points where consumers, commerce, and video converge — where advertisers can leverage the power of sight, sound, and motion and consumers can engage or transact,” says David Cohen, CEO of the IAB. “Advertisers are starting the year looking for growth and investing in channels that drive the most meaningful business results.”
The IAB’s survey of buyers shows first-party data challenges are easing, which it says suggests that buyers feel more prepared after years of internal investment along with sell-side partnerships that leverage first-party data at scale.
Economic concerns are also “fading fast,” according to the report, with about a third (31%) of buyers worried about media inflation. And the survey says policies from the incoming Trump administration, including potential tariffs and deportations, could impact businesses. But the biggest concern among ad buyers has nothing to do with politics. More than four in ten (44%) say executing cross-channel media measurement is their biggest concern, while more than a third (36%) say managing reach and frequency worries them most.
Marketers’ biggest goals with their ad spending remains winning new customers and increasing brand equity, but improving media efficiency is also a rising focus. The latest IAB survey finds four in ten (39%) are focused on that. In prioritizing customer acquisition, the shows’ buyers are increasing their performance advertising initiatives too. Only one in five are increasing their branding, while more than half are increasing performance ads.
The IAB says changes in business strategy designed to demonstrate ROI are key factors driving the shift to performance advertising. Six in ten buyers say they are feeling pressure to show return on their media spending.
Working in podcasting and digital audio’s factor is a third of buyers say they are looking more closely at campaign performance in response to shifts in consumer behavior and the availability of new ad channels and formats.
The IAB annual forecast also offers some encouraging news from producers of news content. Roughly half say they plan to spend the same or more on ads that are adjacent to national or local news content, with only 18% expected to scale back spending against that content. And while diversity programs are being slashed at many companies, the IAB survey finds 61% of buyers say they plan to spend more or the same with minority-owned media. Just 9% expect to spend less with those outlets.
Download the IAB’s 2025 Outlook study HERE.