Unsure which podcast platforms are best for advertisers? In this article, we’ll explore the top podcast platforms and how to choose the best podcast advertising platform for your goals.
What Are Podcast Advertising Platforms?
Podcast advertising platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube distribute podcasts and podcast ads to listeners. Major publishers include iHeart Media, Audacy, Amazon (Wondery), and Pandora; listeners can also access these publishers' shows through their platforms and websites. While podcast networks place podcast ads, podcast platforms distribute the podcast programs that carry these ads to listeners.
Most podcast platforms are free to download and listen to, but some require a subscription to enjoy ad-free listening. However, many consumers choose to enjoy the free versions of podcast apps with the ads as an integral part of the experience.
Ads on these platforms are uniquely positioned to capture podcast audiences: 50% of podcast listeners say that advertising on a podcast is the best way for a brand to reach them.
What Are the Top Podcast Players for Listeners?
While there are a large number of podcast platforms available to consumers, large platforms like Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Podcasts are far and away the leading options from a user penetration perspective.
Below is a breakdown of the top podcast platforms according to podcast listeners.
(From the 2022 Super Listeners Report - Percentage of listeners who listen to each podcast platforms for 5+ hours per week):
| YouTube | 55% |
| Spotify | 49% |
| Apple Podcasts | 38% |
| Amazon Music | 27% |
| iHeart Radio | 27% |
| 27% | |
| Pandora | 25% |
| 24% | |
| Google Podcasts | 22% |
| Audible | 19% |
| Podcast’s own website | 18% |
| SoundCloud | 17% |
| NPR One | 10% |
| The podcast’s own mobile app | 10% |
| Stitcher | 7% |
| TuneIn | 7% |
| Wondery app | 7% |
| Pocket Casts | 6% |
| Castbox | 4% |
| Luminary | 4% |
What Are the Best Podcast Platforms for Advertisers?
At Ad Results Media, we take a “creator-first” approach to selecting shows. We advise clients to focus on specific creators for their ads, instead of specific podcast platforms. This approach aligns with podcast listener habits. In fact, 87% of podcast listeners say that if their favorite podcast became exclusive to one platform they would begin using that service.
While there are many podcast platforms available to advertisers, there are vastly more individual podcast shows and hosts. When we develop our media plans, we focus on individual shows (direct buys) or target audiences (programmatic) that will generate the greatest measurable impact for our clients.
While we often view podcast ad platforms as interchangeable when building out plans, it is important to understand what makes the three leading platforms so successful and monitor how their feature sets are evolving and consumption is trending.
YouTube
According to a recent survey, YouTube is now the largest podcast platform for consumers, with 57.8% of listeners choosing the video streaming for podcasts.
YouTube has seen a surge in podcast listenership from younger audiences. These audiences are moving from podcast “listening” to podcast “watching.” Often referred to as “vodcasting,” in this form of podcast consumption, video plays a much more important role. Audiences not only want to watch the conversation between their favorite podcast hosts, they’re also hungry for supplementary video content that’s only available on YouTube.
While YouTube has become a leading podcast ad platform, it has disadvantages as a podcast player. YouTube only allows Premium members to listen to audio on-the-go with the display on in the background, which prevents casual, audio-only experiences.
Spotify
Spotify is an audio streaming app available for download on most devices. Spotify started primarily as a music streaming service. Today, it’s also one of the world’s largest podcast platforms for advertisers and listeners.
One of the keys to Spotify’s success has been its algorithm's ability to serve up recommendations for both music and podcasts that are predicted to appeal to each unique user’s preferences. Spotify is also the exclusive home to some of the largest podcast shows out there including The Joe Rogan Experience, Call Me Daddy, and Armchair Expert. While with major players like Spotify three year exclusivity contracts have been the norm, the status quo may be shifting. As specific personalities gain influence, they may move their shows to different platforms, distribute them more widely, or develop their own distribution outlets.
Apple Podcasts
Apple Podcasts is a native iOS app that comes pre-installed on all iPhones. Apple’s podcast platform is home to millions of free podcasts, as well as some of the top shows like The Daily, Smartless, Serial, and This American Life.
In 2022, 28.4M US podcast listeners use Apple Podcasts. This number is projected to stay flat through 2026.
The Longtail: Smaller Podcast Ad Networks
Beyond the top three listening platforms, there is a significant longtail of smaller podcast advertising platforms.
The combined market share of these smaller platforms is one of the reasons Ad Results Media is bullish on the future of programmatic podcast advertising. We are easily able to scale our audience buys across the full longtail of platforms using programmatic DSPs like AudioHook and AdsWizz. The benefits of open exchange DSP include tremendous flexibility, enhanced targeting capabilities, cost efficiency, easy A/B testing, and quick turnaround—whether you’re getting up and running or ready to end a campaign.
Conclusion
For any questions about podcast platforms and how to consider them when developing your podcast advertising media plan, reach out to the experts at Ad Results Media for a consultation—we’re always up to chat about how to make audio work for you.
Our podcast advertising experts have specialized insights, knowledge, and strategy that has already transformed the media strategy of countless brands. Let’s put audio to work for you.
