Podcasts continue to grow and expand as a global phenomenon, with the industry now valued at over $23.5B and a projected 500M listeners tuning in this year alone. As audiences continue to grow, so do the sponsorship opportunities, making podcasts a dynamic and lucrative space for brands to engage with highly targeted and passionate communities. Let’s explore the evolving sponsorship landscape in this thriving medium.

Over 2K brands have invested in podcast sponsorships or media across the globe, with rights holders and brands averaging four and two partnerships each, respectively.  

BetterHelp leads as the most active brand, partnering with more than 50 podcasts, including The Adam Schefter Podcast and F1 Nation. Ticket marketplace Gametime is next with 35+ podcast deals, followed by FanDuel with just over 30 partnerships (25 of which are with the Locked On Podcast Network).

Turning to programming, The Ben Shapiro Show tops the long list of podcasts by number of sponsorships, partnering with over 30 brands, Black Rifle Coffee Company and ExpressVPN among them. In second spot is This Week in Tech, whose 20 sponsorships include deals with ZipRecruiter and Wix.com. Golf podcast No Laying Up ranks third with 15 partnerships, including deals with YETI and FanDuel.

A promotion or sweepstakes sponsorship—where brands offer exclusive deals, discounts, chances to win, limited-time offers, or trials to podcast listeners—is the most popular sponsorship asset in the podcast space and is included in more than 35% of deals. These types of activations are popular as they often involve personalized messaging and/or special links and codes that encourage immediate action from the listener. 

Sports podcasts score the #1 spot in most sponsored properties by podcast category, with over 180 sponsored shows. Talk show/lifestyle podcasts takes #2 with 65+ sponsored programs, followed by comedy (40+), true crime (30+), business (25+), education (20+), and politics (15+).