Spotify’s reported offer to buy Gimlet Media for an estimated $200 milliion makes me think that the podcasting market is really a lot bigger than I had previously thought.
Podcasting is a small industry, with an ad model that generated an estimated $315 million in 2017. Digital video ads, by comparison, generated $11.9 billion in the same year. But it is growing quickly, which makes it attractive to some platforms and publishers (including Vox Media) who are interested in tapping new revenue streams.
I think the $315 million annual podcasting revenue estimate is low. I bet that advertisers are at the point where they all agree that podcasting’s mix of old school, host-read ad reads, and new school analytics and targeting, are making it a really good deal for advertisers. I expect a lot more podcast network deals in the next year or two.