As part of its growing expansion into the Canadian market, podcast company Libsyn has announced two new partnerships between AdvertiseCast and 604 Podcast Network, as well as weekly sports podcast The Suspendables.
AdvertiseCast is a marketplace for selling and buying podcast advertising with a network of over 3,000 podcasts. The Suspendables, hosted by NHL star Russ Courtnall and comedian Jungle Jim Jerome, will be joining AdvertiseCast’s podcast network which now own monetisation rights to the show.
“In just a few months since expanding into the Canadian marketplace, we’re seeing significant traction with advertisers embracing the medium to connect with high value, engaged podcast listeners,” said Libsyn AdvertiseCast Canada country manager Bob Kane.
Additionally, 604 Podcast Network – previously known as Comedy Here Often? – is now AdvertiseCast’s exclusive partner. It is considered the largest podcast network in Canada with a wide portfolio of hit comedy shows including The 98% and The Intrusive Thought Cast.
In August 2022, AdvertiseCast signed an exclusive partnership deal with independent comedy and entertainment company The Sonar Network to meet the growing demand for comedy podcasts in Canada. According to Signal Hill Insights’ The Canadian Podcast Listener report 2021, comedy was the leading podcast genre in the country followed by news, sports and true crime.
“We look forward to generating valuable advertising opportunities for Sonar, Bob McCown, 604 and The Suspendables, as well as our growing roster of Canadian podcast exclusives,” said Kane.
Libsyn also recently announced that hit true-crime podcast Lore also joined AdvertiseCast’s podcast network in mid-January this year and that the company will now own monetisation rights for the show.
According to Libsyn’s January 2023 Podcast Advertising Rates, true crime was amongst the three highest CPM categories at $26, tied in with Technology and Games & Hobbies leading at $28.
Art, News, Fiction and TV are categories that have more accessible CPM rates in the lower 20s, according to the report, and more highly-engaged audiences for advertisers.
The data from AdvertiseCast is based on sales data across the platform’s podcast network. On an overall level, the average CPM for this month is at $22.28, which is down by over 10% year-over-year compared to January 2022 at $25.40.
“We saw a slightly lower average CPM rate in January due to the typical seasonality which follows the holiday season,” said Libsyn’s AdvertiseCast chief revenue officer, Dave Hanley. “Coming into 2023, we’ve signed several new exclusive podcast advertising partnerships, and many are leveraging our Libsyn Auto Ads offering to augment their host-read program with programmatic ad revenue.
“We expect to roll out even more features soon to enable creators and advertisers to drive more value from podcasting with improved measurement, insights and transparency.”
