Liberated Syndication Inc. shared insights from its 2024 IAB Podcast Upfronts presentation and released its May 2024 Podcast Advertising Rates, including the highest and most accessible CPM categories. At the 2024 IAB Podcast Upfront's, held last month in New York City, creators, brands, agencies, and media buyers convened to discuss the state of podcast advertising and preview the latest in talent and tech. After years of double-digit increases, podcast advertising posted a modest revenue increase of 5% to $1.9 billion in 2023.

That said, podcasting is projected to more than double its 2023 ad revenue growth rate (+12%) in 2024 and reach nearly $2.6 billion by 2026, according to IAB & PwC's new U.S. Podcast Advertising Revenue Study. Libsyn Ads, the world's premier podcast advertising network, was among the podcasting innovators that took the IAB stage with its esteemed partners: Liz Alesse, Vice President, ABC Audio, ABC News, and Nick Viall, Host, The Viall Files. Here are some key takeaways from Libsyn's "The Magic of Podcasting: How Brands are Finding Success with the Right Podcast Partners" panel: Nick Viall Bets Big on Podcasting: Nick underscored his confidence in the podcasting space and discussed his ambition to leverage his successful podcast, "The Viall Files," as a springboard to launch a full-fledged media company.

Announced earlier this year, Envy Media is his new audio-first lifestyle brand centered on pop culture, reality TV, and relationship-themed shows. ABC Audio Leans in to Storytelling: For ABC, diving into the podcast space was an obvious choice due to the unique creative freedom and flexibility the medium offers. ABC Audio is collaborating with ABC News, the Walt Disney Company, and other properties to lean in to innovative storytelling - deliberately avoiding traditional storytelling techniques from other mediums and tapping the very best podcast audio storytellers that they can find.

And after years of success, they're only just beginning to scratch the storytelling surface of their extensive IP and archives they have access to. ABC Audio Adapts to Changing Consumption Habits: With changing consumption habits, ABC Audio offers shows like "Start Here," a thoughtful daily news podcast hosted by Brad Mielke that covers top stories of the day in 20 minutes. They also produce "Five thirtyEight Politics," a niche podcast that takes a scientific approach to breaking down the latest political developments.

There's a lot of political content that advertisers might shy away from, but shows like this are very data-driven and unbiased - i.e. brand suitable and investment worthy. The following rates, which are denoted as cost per thousand or CPM, are published monthly by Libsyn Ads, which provides comprehensive podcast advertising solutions for creators, advertisers, and agencies. The Company releases the figures to empower the podcaster and advertiser communities to readily monitor market pricing and provide greater insight into podcasting advertising as a monetization vehicle.

The data is derived from actual sales data across Libsyn Ads' network of thousands of shows. For May 2024, the average CPM rate was $21.63 for a 60-second ad spot. That figure is slightly lower than last month (April 2024 avg.

CPM rate: $21.89), and the same month last year (May 2023 avg. CPM rate: $23.34). The three highest CPM categories in May based on delivered advertising were: Technology: $27, Business: $25, Education: $24.

Moreover, three categories where advertisers can effectively tap into highly engaged audiences at more accessible CPM rates include Arts, Fiction, and TV & Film, which averaged around the high teens to low 20s in May.