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Podcast publishers expand into video to boost growth as advertising investment gains remain slow

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Podcast

Global podcast ad spend will exceed $5bn in 2025 (+7.9%) and $5.5bn in 2026 (+6.5%)
Video podcast consumption is growing. YouTube is the most popular platform
Podcast audiences are more receptive to ads
The US is the world’s largest podcast ad market at $2.4bn

WARC Global Advertising Trends: Podcast media sets sights on video boom

12 February 2025 – Podcasts are growing in cultural and political influence, but growth in podcast advertising spend remains slow. Publishers and platforms are looking to address this by expanding beyond audio, with a greater focus on creators and video content, according to WARC Media’s latest Global Ad Trends report, ‘Podcast media sets sights on video boom’.

Alex Brownsell, Head of Content, WARC Media, says: “Podcasts are having a moment. Fresh from seemingly helping Donald Trump to win last year’s ‘podcast election’ in the US, brands are reappraising the medium through fresh eyes.

“However, ad investment growth remains sluggish, with podcasters trapped in a contest for a slow-growing pool of global audio ad budgets. Publishers and platforms are now eyeing expansion into video, in the hope of further boosting consumption, as well as winning a share of a fast-growing slice of the ad market.”

WARC’s latest Global Ad Trends report ‘Podcast media sets sights on video boom’ highlights the following trends:

Podcast advertising spend growth remains slow

For all its burgeoning cultural impact, podcasts remain caught in a battle to win share of audio ad dollars.

WARC Media forecasts that global podcast ad spend reached $4.8bn in 2024, will exceed $5bn in 2025, and amount to $5.5bn in 2026. However, year-on-year growth is set to slow from 13.2% in 2024 to 7.9% in 2025, and only 6.5% in 2026.

This is markedly down on the expanding investment levels in other emerging channels, including retail media (+14.8% in 2025), CTV (+15.4%) and even DOOH (+14.9%).

Difficulties in scaling podcast ad buys is one oft-repeated complaint among brands. Another is a perceived deficiency in podcast measurement tools.

However, according to WARC’s annual Marketer’s Toolkit survey, more than half of global marketers (55%) plan to increase their podcast ad investment this year. Podcasts ranked fifth highest in intention to invest – behind only online video, influencer/creator marketing, and social media.

Global podcast listenership is growing and remains diverse

The total global audience reach of podcasts has increased from 60.6% in 2020 to 66% in 2025.

Edison Research estimates that 135 million listen in the US each month, equivalent to 47% of all consumers aged 12+. In the UK, Ofcom found the percentage listening to podcasts on a weekly basis has doubled from 10.8% in 2018 to 20.7% last year.

On average, younger cohorts spend more time on podcasts each day than older groups. As of Q2 2024, podcasts’ reach among Gen Z audiences worldwide (68%) exceeds radio by ten percentage points.

In markets like the UAE and Brazil, podcast listenership among all adults has exceeded radio, whereas countries like Germany and China exhibit subdued and downward trends, according to WARC Media and GWI data.

Podcast publishers are aiming to drive growth through video

YouTube has emerged as the most popular platform for podcast video. Viewers watched over 400 million hours of podcasts per month on YouTube’s TV app in 2024. More than 250 million users have streamed a video podcast on Spotify, with consumption most prevalent among Gen Z users: in the first five months of 2024, the younger cohort watched 2.9 billion minutes of video podcast content, up 58% year-on-year. Spotify found a +55% lift in intent for campaigns with an audio and video takeover versus audio-only campaigns.

As brands become more sophisticated in how they incorporate creator content into media plans, it may provide an opportunity for podcast media to escape its audio bubble. However, obstacles include consumers wanting to minimise video and listen to audio only, podcast creators unwilling to embrace video and lose control over monetisation, and perceived deficiency in podcast measurement tools.

The US is the world’s largest podcast advertising market

The US – home to mega-shows such as The Joe Rogan Experience – accounts for nearly half (45.9%) of all global podcast ad spend.

Recent research by WARC and Audacy found that, while podcast listening accounts for 4.5% of all ad-supported US media consumption, the channel only receives 1.0% of total US ad investment ($2.4bn in 2025).

Retail continues to be the category with the highest podcast ad spend in the US, while the US election prompted a slight increase in government and non-profit spend. Food category spend remains low, but is forecast to record the fastest growth in 2026 (+13.2%).

As the medium matures, larger brands are becoming a more dependable source of income for podcast publishers. Top podcast spenders in the US include Amazon, T-Mobile, Capital One and Toyota.

In the UK, podcast ad spend is forecast to reach £110m this year, growing at 12.8%, according to WARC Media estimates. This is a faster rate of growth than in the US, and a sharper incline than forecast for UK spend on search, social media, DOOH and BVOD in 2025.

Podcast reach in the UK is increasing: a fifth (23.6%) of people aged 15-24 listen to at least one podcast per week, and consumption is highest among 25-34-year-olds (27.9%).

Podcasts are becoming more important to political discourse

Donald Trump triumphed in the ‘podcast election’. His podcast strategy was more effective than that of rival Kamala Harris, achieving greater reach with shows known for delivering better returns for brands. Trump appeared on podcasts with a total average reach of 23.5 million compared to 6.4 million for Harris, and the shows selected by Trump drove 2-3x better results for brands in areas such as site visits, sign-ups and purchases.

According to Edison Research, nearly half (44%) of those surveyed by them said they sourced US election information from podcasts, ahead of cable TV (34%) and platforms like X (33%).

Following the US election result, previously cautious marketers are re-considering their ‘podcast safety’ approach – in particular in advertising against more right-wing content to reach younger male audiences.

Podcast audiences tend to be more receptive to ads

Nearly 40% of listeners say the medium has become “more relevant” in recent years, according to an Acast study. However, as programmatic trading expands into podcasting and the channel expands beyond baked-in host-read ads, other studies have found that two in five (42%) regular listeners skip podcast ads, as they find them intrusive.

Studies have found that episodic buys – that is, ads placed in a single podcast episode on a specific show – tend to outperform ads dynamically inserted throughout shows across a podcast network. In the case of host-read ads, Podscribe research found that, as ad length increases, visitor rates to advertisers’ sites also increase. On average, a two-minute-plus read outperforms 60-second or shorter reads by about 20%.

Read a complimentary sample report of WARC’s Global Ad Trends – Podcast media sets sights on video boom. WARC Media subscribers can read the report in full. A WARC podcast discussing the findings outlined in the report will be available from 25 February.

Global Ad Trends, part of WARC Media, is a quarterly report which draws on WARC’s dataset of advertising and media intelligence to take a holistic view on current industry developments.

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Africa’s Grid Constraints Come into Focus as Regional Markets Push Toward Integration

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3 days ago

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June 26, 2026

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Africa

Regional power pools are advancing and renewable pipelines are growing, but the regulatory and financial architecture needed to connect them remains the continent’s most critical infrastructure gap – an issue central to the Power Africa Today conference at AEW 2026

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, June 25, 2026/APO Group/ –Africa’s electricity demand is projected to nearly double to 2,291 TWh by 2050, requiring an estimated $30 billion in transmission and grid infrastructure investment to unlock and integrate new generation capacity. Yet across the continent, grid systems are struggling to keep pace with rapidly expanding supply pipelines and rising demand.

In Nigeria, repeated nationwide grid collapses as recently as February 2026 underscore the fragility of aging transmission infrastructure. In East Africa, tower failures along the 428 km Loiyangalani-Suswa line temporarily stranded output from Lake Turkana Wind Power – Africa’s largest wind installation. Meanwhile, demand growth pressures are accelerating across North Africa, where electricity consumption is expected to rise by around 50% by 2035, driven by urbanization, desalination projects, and climate-related temperature increases.

Despite these constraints, generation investment continues to accelerate across Africa, particularly in renewables, gas-to-power and hybrid systems. However, without equivalent investment in transmission and interconnection, much of this new capacity risks being underutilized or stranded. This growing imbalance between generation and grid capacity is driving a sharper focus on system-wide planning and regional market design – issues that will be central to the newly launched Power Africa Today conference at African Energy Week 2026. The platform will bring together policymakers, utilities, investors and developers to explore how regional interconnection, cross-border trading frameworks and financing structures can better align generation growth with grid expansion.

Power Markets Experiment with Reform

Alongside infrastructure challenges, Africa’s electricity sector is undergoing gradual – but uneven – market reform. Most countries still operate vertically integrated systems dominated by state utilities, but a growing number are introducing competitive frameworks to attract private capital and improve efficiency.

Zimbabwe opened its electricity market to full private participation across generation, transmission and distribution in 2025, targeting $9 billion in new investment. South Africa is advancing one of the continent’s most ambitious grid expansion programs, with plans for 14,500 km of new transmission lines and 133,000 MVA of transformer capacity by 2034, alongside mechanisms designed to crowd in private financing. Kenya, meanwhile, has introduced open access regulations enabling independent power producers to wheel electricity directly to multiple off-takers, reshaping how generation assets interface with the grid.

Interconnected electricity markets are the foundation of Africa’s industrial future

Regional Integration Remains Fragmented

Efforts to connect Africa’s fragmented power systems are progressing, though at different speeds across regions. In Southern Africa, the World Bank’s RETRADE SAPP program, approved in 2025, is deploying $12 million to strengthen renewable integration and transmission capacity across 12 member states. In East Africa, the Ethiopia–Kenya–Tanzania Electricity Highway is now in trial operations at up to 2,000 MW, marking a significant step toward a more interconnected regional grid.

West Africa is also moving toward deeper integration, with permanent synchronization of the West Africa Power Pool expected in 2026. Analysts, including the African Finance Corporation, argue that such synchronization is critical to unlocking large-scale hydropower potential and industrial demand across the region. Longer term, full synchronization between the Eastern and Southern African power pools – targeted for the end of 2026 – could create one of the world’s largest cross-border electricity trading corridors.

Building Bankable Financial Architectures

While interconnection is advancing, infrastructure alone is not enough to create investable electricity markets. Investors consistently cite the lack of standardized offtake structures, creditworthy counterparties, and cross-border payment guarantees as key barriers to scaling capital deployment.

New models are emerging to address these constraints. Africa GreenCo, operating across Zambia, Namibia and South Africa, is helping to aggregate independent power producers under a single creditworthy intermediary, standardizing power purchase agreements and reducing counterparty risk. At a broader level, AUDA-NEPAD estimates that Africa requires around $30 billion in additional investment to complete priority transmission corridors and establish three fully interconnected regional trading blocs by 2030.

“Interconnected electricity markets are the foundation of Africa’s industrial future,” said NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber. “The question at Africa Energy Week is not whether integration is possible – the evidence is already there. The question is which regulatory frameworks and financial structures will get projects to financial close, and which markets will be ready when capital is looking to move.”

The Power Africa Today conference will run alongside AEW 2026, taking place October 12–16 in Cape Town, and will focus on the regulatory, financial and infrastructural architecture needed to build interconnected electricity markets capable of attracting institutional capital and delivering reliable, cross-border power at scale.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.

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Business

African Development Bank Group and La Francophonie Sign Partnership Agreement to Promote Youth Employment in Francophone Africa

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June 26, 2026

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The agreement was signed during a meeting between the Secretary General of La Francophonie, Louise Mushikiwabo, and African Development Bank Group President, Dr Sidi Ould Tah in Paris, France

PARIS, France, June 25, 2026/APO Group/ –The African Development Bank Group (www.AfDB.org) and The International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF) on Wednesday entered a strategic partnership to strengthen digital skills, employability, and entrepreneurship of young people and women in five African countries: Benin, Cameroon, Guinea, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Madagascar.

 

The agreement was signed during a meeting between the Secretary General of La Francophonie, Louise Mushikiwabo, and African Development Bank Group President, Dr Sidi Ould Tah in Paris, France. The agreement will address a major challenge faced by countries in the Francophone world and across Africa: providing young people with access to opportunities offered by the digital economy and fostering the emergence of a new generation of entrepreneurs.

The partnership calls for the implementation of training programs in digital professions and entrepreneurship, in fields such as web and mobile development, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and data analysis. Participants will also receive guidance toward employment and self-employment, as well as support for innovation and business creation, notably through training camps, prototyping activities, and partnerships with incubators and accelerators.

The African Development Bank Group and OIF will also work with national authorities in these five countries and training institutions to sustainably strengthen local capacities and promote ownership of the programs by national stakeholders. An initial pilot phase, lasting 12 to 24 months, will be rolled out in the five partner countries, followed by a gradual expansion to other member states depending on the results achieved.

The African Development Bank Group is pursuing a bold agenda based on “Four Cardinal Points” developed by Dr Ould Tah, the third of which is ‘Turning Demographics into a Dividend.’ This is about strategically converting Africa’s rapidly growing and youthful population into a decisive engine of inclusive growth, productivity, and innovation through large-scale investment in human capital—particularly youth and women.

 

It sees Africa’s growing young population not as a risk, but as a major asset. With the right policies and investments, this potential can create jobs, help small businesses grow, bring more informal businesses into the formal economy, and equip young people with the skills needed for the future. By investing more in education, science and technology, vocational training, entrepreneurship, finance, and digital tools, Africa can help its people drive economic transformation, stay competitive, and build lasting, resilient growth.

The OIF said the agreement marked the first concrete step in its initiative to mobilize innovative and additional funding for its most impactful projects.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB).

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Events

Paddles up! Hong Kong marks 50 Years of international dragon boat thrills

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3 days ago

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June 26, 2026

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Hong Kong

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 25 June 2026 – With top teams from around the world gearing up for the hotly contested Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Races this weekend (June 27-28), participants and spectators can expect a bumper programme of action, fun and entertainment along the Victoria Harbour waterfront in Tsim Sha Tsui – one of the city’s most vibrant districts known for its iconic skyline views and tourist attractions.

There is much to celebrate. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Races as well as 35th anniversary of both the co-organiser, Hong Kong China Dragon Boat Association, and the sanctioning body, International Dragon Boat Federation (IDBF). The IDBF added to the occasion by announcing earlier this year the relocation of its headquarters back to Hong Kong.

Riding on the wave of excitement, the organiser, Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB), extended the annual Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Festival period to 13 days (June 19 – July 1), beginning on the historic Tuen Ng Festival (Dragon Boat Festival) and concluding on July 1, which is the 29th anniversary of the Establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR).

As the headline international flagship event of “Hong Kong Summer Fun”, Dr Peter Lam, Chairman of the HKTB, said the Festival not only ran over a longer period, but also featured a stronger race line-up and more vibrant entertainment programmes than in previous years, offering an experience found only in Hong Kong for locals and visitors, while showcasing Hong Kong’s position as the Events Capital of Asia.

More than 220 teams from 16 countries and regions will compete for top honours in the world‑renowned setting of Victoria Harbour. This year’s event also introduces the special 50th Anniversary Fishermen Invitational Cup and the 50th Anniversary Championship, paying tribute to the traditional spirit of dragon boat racing.

Visitors will be able to enjoy a series of thematic activities along the Avenue of Stars, including a 22-metre traditional wooden dragon boat, a dragon boat-themed installation in collaboration with the new film Minions & Monsters, live music performances and a line-up of intangible cultural heritage performances, including martial art Wing Chun, Chinese juggling diabolo, traditional musical instruments ruan and guzheng.

Highlighting Hong Kong’s reputation as the birthplace of modern international dragon boat racing, as well as its strengths as a global hub city, the IDBF has taken a significant step in its long‑term global strategy with the formal incorporation of International Dragon Boat Federation Limited in Hong Kong on 29 April 2026.

“Incorporation in Hong Kong is not a conclusion, but a beginning. It anchors our Federation in the city where our international story started and strengthens our ability to serve our members and the global dragon boat family,” said Claudio Schermi, President of the IDBF.

As part of this new chapter, the IDBF has applied for funding under “the Pilot Scheme to Strengthen the Presence of Hong Kong in Asian and International Sports Associations”, which was recently introduced by the HKSAR Government’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau. The Pilot Scheme is an initiative designed to support Asian and international sports associations establishing their headquarters or regional headquarters in the city.

The Dragon Boat Festival has a long and colourful history dating back more than two thousand years. Held each year on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, the day commemorates the patriotic poet Qu Yuan.

According to legend, Qu committed suicide for his beliefs by throwing himself into the Luo River. The villagers nearby raced out on their dragon boats, banging gongs and drums to scare away fish and other underwater creatures to stop them from eating Qu’s body. The tradition continues to this day, with dragon boat competitions taking place at locations across Hong Kong, each reflecting the unique characteristics of its neighbourhood.

Traditional dragon boat treats feature prominently during the festival, notably zongzi. These glutinous rice dumplings, traditionally wrapped in bamboo leaves and steamed or boiled, are widely available during the festive period.

 

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