Podcasts were one of the few areas to have weathered the pandemic without sustaining ad spending losses.

On today's episode, we discuss some digital audio developments from Spotify and iHeartMedia, how podcast advertising can add value, in-car audio entertainment, and what the first flavor of advertising on social audio platforms will look like. We then talk about what to expect from this years' Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Podcast Upfronts, how people are approaching podcast moderation, and the market for podcasts created for children. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer forecasting analyst at Insider Intelligence Peter Vahle.

Podcasting will continue on its upward trajectory: However, stakeholders will need to assess their priorities when it comes to advertising as fragmentation continues to present an interesting challenge.

It appears that Spotify’s podcast investments are paying off. For the first time, Spotify’s US podcast listenership will overtake Apple Podcasts’, according to eMarketer’s latest forecast. This year, 28.2 million people will listen to podcasts on Spotify at least monthly, while 28.0 million will listen via Apple Podcasts. Spotify has experienced significant growth in recent years; the company will grow 41.3% this year.

The pandemic led to many upward revisions of our UK digital user forecasts. Some changes (podcast listeners) will be permanent, while others will be temporary (digital gamers). Our social network user numbers, meanwhile, didn’t change much at all.

A look at pandemic pods–podcasting, that is

Spotify and podcasts are set to benefit most

eMarketer analyst Blake Droesch, principal analyst Jeremy Goldman, and forecasting analyst at Insider Intelligence Peter Vahle discuss whether the Super Bowl delivered, what's fueling Spotify, how the podcast and social media worlds are blurring together, if reducing politics in the News Feed can help Facebook, why the shopping mall might make a comeback, what is the most relaxing song ever (statistically), and more.

In yesterday's live podcast (broadcast on Clubhouse), we discussed the audio social network movement: the advantages, disadvantages, key players, and what marketers should consider. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer principal analysts Debra Aho Williamson and Jeremy Goldman, and forecasting analyst at Insider Intelligence Peter Vahle.

eMarketer principal analysts Jeremy Goldman and Jillian Ryan, along with senior analyst at Insider Intelligence Sara M. Watson, discuss what a reimagined workplace looks like, The New York Times digital transformation, what big tech can expect from the Biden Administration, whether the world is getting less colorful, podcasts as a direct line to consumers, how many people live underwater, and more.

In this episode, the 'Behind the Numbers' crew new and old—former eMarketer principal analyst and now vice president of content studio Paul Verna, former eMarketer senior analyst and now market strategy manager at Spotify Bryan Yeager, director of content studio Daniel Caridi, director of report editing Rahul Chadha, and podcast host Marcus Johnson tell the story of how and why 'Behind the Numbers' got started, our favorite episodes, and what we expect the future of podcasting to look like. We hope you enjoy. And thank you so much to everyone who's ever listened for helping to make this show what it is.