AirwaveThe Mid-Roll
Is Dying.
Here's What
Replaces It.
CPMs down 11%. Post-roll conversions up. Host-read ads outperforming by 31%. The data this week rewrites the standard ad playbook.
Average minute where 50% of listeners have exited, per episode. 2022–2025.
Listeners are staying 12 minutes longer than in 2022 — yet mid-roll CPMs have fallen 11%. The gap between attention and monetization has never been wider.
This Month's Features
Six stories. One thread: the numbers most producers never see.
YouTube Is Now the Largest Podcast Platform in America
Over 1 billion monthly listeners. More than Spotify and Apple combined. The data this week shows exactly which show types are winning — and which audio-first producers are quietly losing ground to creators who turned on a camera. Read more →
of US listeners chose video podcasts in 2025
Post-Roll's Quiet Comeback
Only 13% lower conversion than mid-roll. At a fraction of the CPM. The math favors the underdog ad slot — but most producers haven't run the numbers. Read more →
Mid-roll CPM vs $15–20 post-roll
93% Finish. Almost Nobody Knows What To Do With That.
Podcast completion rates dwarf every other medium. Yet most producers still measure success by downloads in week one. The metric mismatch is costing them sponsorship... Read more →
of global listeners finish most episodes
What "1,000 Downloads" Actually Means
You're already in the top 20% globally. Here's what the full percentile table looks like — and why the network minimum of 10,000 downloads is a number invented by agencies, not... Read more →
globally if you hit 1,000 downloads/ep
$4.46 Billion Spent. 3.8% of Budgets.
The podcast ad market hit a record — and still represents a rounding error in most media plans. What the gap between performance data and budget allocation reveals about... Read more →
YoY growth in podcast ad spend, 2025
The Episode Length Trap
Longer isn't better. Shorter isn't better. The data shows a specific window — and it shifts by genre in ways that should change how you structure every episode you... Read more →
of podcasters now prioritize retention over downloads
Where Does Your Show Actually Stand?
These are the benchmarks Airwave tracks weekly. Most producers have never seen them in one place.
"A podcast with 1,000 downloads per episode is already in the global top 20%. The industry has a perception problem, not a performance problem."
Edison Research, Infinite Dial 2025puts you in the global top 20%
qualifies as top-quartile performance
true crime & business niches command the most
recall podcast ads better than TV or YouTube
for host-read vs. producer-read ads (Podscribe Q2 2025)
is considered excellent; 75%+ is elite tier
Find Your
Blind Spot.
Five questions. Two minutes. Your first Airwave issue arrives personalized to your show tier — the benchmarks and analysis that matter for your specific situation, not a generic welcome email.
Five questions.
One personalized issue.
Tell us about your show and we\'ll send you the Airwave issue most relevant to where you are right now — not the same email everyone else gets.
No credit card. No sales pitch. Just data.
Who Reads Airwave
Three archetypes. One newsletter. All needing the same thing: the real numbers.
"I've been in podcasting for six years and I still learned something from Issue 39. The download percentile table alone was worth the subscription — I'd been measuring myself against the wrong benchmark for years."
"I walked into a pitch with a $42K Q1 ask and used the Airwave CPM benchmarks to justify every line item. The client had no counter-argument. Closed it in the room."
"We use Airwave before every renewal cycle. The retention curve data in Issue 44 changed how we think about completion rate as a proxy for show health. Two shows we would've cut are still running."
Past Issues
Not ready to commit? Read three issues first.
Browse All 46 Issues