Podcast listeners don’t love or hate ads, report says

Many people regularly listen to podcasts. But are they paying attention to the ads?

Customer experience platform Disqo recently tried to find out via a survey of close to 35,000 US consumers last month. Overall, it found that while many listeners don’t love the ads they hear on podcasts, they don’t seem to hate them either.

Attention, please: When asked if they pay more or less attention to ads on podcasts compared to channels like online, radio, and TV, the largest share of respondents said they weren’t sure. But one in three said they pay more attention to podcast ads.

• A smaller share—about one in four—said they pay less attention.
• “While this difference isn’t overwhelmingly large, it does suggest that consumers can be more influenced by podcast ads,” the report concludes.
• Daily listeners are even more tuned into podcast ads, with almost half saying they pay more attention.

Hate it or love it: Sorry, marketers…no one really loves ads. When it comes to podcast ads, just 15% of listeners said they liked them. Another 50%, however, said they don’t mind them, and “the lack of negative sentiment and the presence of ample positive feelings suggest that podcast ads can meaningfully engage target audiences,” according to the report.

• About one in three listeners (35%) said they dislike podcast ads.
• Younger adults (ages 18–44) had a more positive view of podcast ads than those 45+, with 19% saying they like them, compared to 9% of the older demo.

Host with the most: Podcasting is known for its host-read ad format, so perhaps it’s not surprising that Disqo found a podcast’s content and host impact sentiment toward its advertisers.

• One-third of respondents said they like a brand more when it’s promoted by a host or show they also like.
• But large shares of both groups said the content or host has no impact on their feelings toward the advertisers, including 63% of all listeners and 52% of daily listeners.