This is the download from Sounds Profitable, your daily source for the essential news of the business of podcasting. Brought to you by Spreaker from iHeart. I'm Newton Chattelcotti, still in for Gavin Gaddis. Surrender Dorothy, or you'll never see them again. Before we get into the news, a quick announcement. Join us for an insightful webinar that's a must-attend for brands, agencies, and media buyers looking to connect with one of podcasting's most devoted audiences, true crime fans.
The 2024 true crime podcast listener landscape report from Libsyn and Sounds Profitable will feature new data on the true crime audience from Tom Webster. In addition, the hosts of the popular true crime podcast, Moms and Mysteries, Mandy and Melissa. will share firsthand insights on their true crime audience, offering reflections on listener impact and engagement. With that out of the way, here's what you need to know for today, Tuesday, December 3rd.
First up, YouTube expands its lead as the number one platform for podcasts by Elizabeth Mayer. The fall 2024 report, commissioned by Cumulus Media and Signal Hill Insights from MARU and Matchbox. Features an in-depth study of 603 weekly podcast consumers in October. Key findings include YouTube hitting an all-time high as the most utilized listening platform in the country.
with 34% of respondents saying they use it the most compared to Spotify in second place, with 17% and Apple in third at 11%. One in three of respondents say they prefer actively watching podcasts with a video element, a group that makes up 13% of the weekly podcast audience. Next up, WARC, global ad spend to top $1 trillion for the first time in 2024. A new study from WARC finds global ad spend is on pace to grow 10.7% year over year.
reaching $1.8 trillion USD. According to WARC, this represents the strongest growth rate in six years and largest absolute rise on record. if one excludes the outlier 27.9% year-over-year bounce back from COVID recovery back in 2021. Ad spend growth is expected to continue into 2025, with 7.6% growth, and 2026... with 7% growth, reaching a global ad market value of $1.24 trillion. Next up, Google and the DOJ tussle one more time over ad tech by Ryan Barwick.
The antitrust case brought against Google by the Department of Justice had closing arguments recently, which started back in September before taking a month break in October. The DOJ lawyers argue Google owns the entire ad tech supply chain, including the largest ad server and exchange, combined with a massive supply of advertisers. The plaintiff argues these in combination allow Google to unfairly choke out competition.
Google's lawyers pitched the company's dominance of advertising is due to their superior technology winning in a hyper-competitive market, allowing them a leg up in their constant battle with tech companies like Meta, Microsoft, and TikTok. The judge's decision on this case is expected at the end of the year or early 2025. Next, operating systems are now battlefields, at least in the CTV world, by Victoria McNally.
Part of the evolution of connected television is the software used to make the televisions connected in the first place. A challenge for streaming device-based operating systems is consumers aren't inherently loyal to any one app or service. system war, as TV manufacturers have historically low margins and can recoup losses on hardware via owning the OS used to deliver apps and ads to the consumer.
The downside to this is not every app developer has the time or financial incentive to support every single niche OS, meaning unpopular entries will get behind. Finally, Digiday Plus Research, How Programmatics Shook Out for Publishers in 2024, by Julia Tabiz. Twice a year, Digiday Research surveys close to 50 publisher professionals, once in Q1 and once in Q3.
This year's Q3 findings suggest the majority of publishers are getting at least a small bit of revenue from programmatic ads as the year winds down. 86% of respondents agree with this sentiment, a 4% increase from Q1. That said, the amount of publishers for whom that programmatic contribution was small has grown, with 25% saying they got very small or small profits from programmatic compared to 17% in Q1.
47% of respondents say they plan to put a large focus on building programmatic ad business in the next six months, down 6% from Q1. A quick note before the quick hits. Remember, chartable analytic links expire December 12th, breaking any podcast still using their links.
Magellan AI is offering a free month and 1mm impressions for those switching. Sound's profitable partners get 3mm. As for the rest of the news, speaking of switching off Chartable, Podgagement has launched charts and rankings to act as a Chartable replacement. Amplify Media's Stephen Goldstein has recapped 2024's biggest stories in the world of podcasting, from the election to radio's performance.
Veritonic has announced enhanced capabilities for analyzing and optimizing the audio performance of video podcasts. Acast has opened a new podcasting hub in London. including an Amazon Music branded studio available for free to new and emerging creators in London looking to podcast with professional grade equipment. Gen Z Media has announced a new partnership with children's interactive audio platform Yodo to distribute six Gen Z podcasts, starting with The Alien Adventures of Finn Caspain.
AMA has launched a significant update to their API integration that streamlines first-party data for brands. And Sony Music Entertainment has launched a new true crime podcast, Scary Terry, following the story of an 80s spiritual leader tied to a dozen suspicious deaths.
Be sure to check out the links to every article mentioned right in your podcast listening app or at soundsprofitable.com, where you can also subscribe to the newsletter version. The download is written and produced by me, Newton Shattelcotti, Brian Barletta, Gavin Gaddis, and Tom Webster. is hosted on Spreaker. For Sounds Profitable, I'm Newton Shadalcotti, download us again tomorrow.