• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, Yesterday

Video podcasts keep soaring -- including advertising revenue.

There are 16,478 podcasts in the U.S. out of 34,208 global video podcasts overall, according to estimates from Million Podcasts. The overall podcast advertising market in the U.S. is estimated to be $3 billion and over $5 billion globally, according to Digital Applied.

YouTube, Netflix, Spotify, Apple  and others keep investing in the video podcast business. This activity is also growing alongside “video shorts” platforms including YouTube Shorts, Reels and TikTok.

The top 10% of all podcasts have 85% of the listening total and the top ten podcasts overall -- in terms of listeners and viewers -- are all video podcasts appearing on YouTube.

In terms of those top podcasts, the average number of listeners and viewers is 5.5 million. The top four are “The Joe Rogan Experience” (with 14 million), “Crime Junkie” (at 9 million), “Call Her Daddy” (with 5 million) and “The Daily” (at 4 million.)

That said, only 22.9% of 7,800 shows carry any advertising, according to Million Podcasts. Of those shows that have advertising, they are estimated to reach a median of 10,000 monthly listeners versus 1,500 listeners for unsponsored podcasts.

“Ad money follows the audience rather than creating it,” the authors of the research say, adding: “The pattern reads cleanly: brands underwrite shows that already have audiences, not the other way around.”

They note that around 2,500 shows carry 11 or more brand messages, while around 1,250 have 6-10 sponsors and 1,100 shows have between 2 and 3 brands.

Major direct-response advertisers for U.S.-based podcasts include Rocket Money, Shopify, Aura Frames, Amazon and BetterHelp, according to Million Podcasts. Fewer big brand advertisers are buying in currently.

Research shows that the average podcast lasts around 41 minutes -- with an overall range of between 20 and 60 minutes.