Digital Audio Ad Spend Surges To $221m

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Advertisers spent $221.2 million on digital audio advertising including podcasts, music and radio streaming in the calendar year 2022, according to the IAB Australia Online Advertising Expenditure Report (OAER) prepared by PwC.

The figures show streaming attracted $138.7 million of the ad spend pie, while podcasting accounted for $82.5 million or 37 percent of total digital audio spend.

The figures were made available as a result of industry collaboration between IAB Australia and Commercial Radio & Audio.

Gai Le Roy, CEO of IAB Australia commented: “With the increase in investment in both streaming audio and podcasting advertising it was important that we have an accurate picture of the market and we are pleased to have digital audio spend now tracked as a category in its own right. In 2022 digital audio represented 4 percent of the total digital display market. Digital audio revenue, including both agency and direct investment dollars, will now be included in our regular quarterly reports.”

CRA CEO Ford Ennals said digital audio had emerged as a category in its own right following soaring growth in listener numbers and strong interest by advertisers. “Digital audio is one of the most significant growth markets in Australian media with both streaming and podcast listening and revenue continuing to surge”

“It’s great to be able to confirm with IAB that this market has grown so quickly from nothing to over $220 million in an incredibly short space of time. PWC has confirmed that they expect to see continued strong digital audio growth in 2023 as more and more businesses and agencies invest in these highly targeted mediums. Digital audio revenue is incremental to broadcast radio spend, which remains robust.”

CRA reported earlier that radio revenue for the five major metro markets increased by 5 percent in 2022 to $701.402 million.

Edison’s Infinite Dial Australia study found that 71 percent of Australians listen to audio online on a weekly basis, up from 46 percent five years ago.

Forty percent of Australians listen to a podcast monthly.

The Australian Podcast Ranker, which reports on the most popular podcasts consumed in Australia each month, showed Australians downloaded more than 755 million podcasts in 2022. The full IAB Australia OAER report can be found here.

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