Radio Revenue Decline and Cost Savings

Sponsored by Beamly. Stop giving Patreon a cut. Beamly hosts your private podcasts and enables memberships with 0% platform fees. Your content, members and income - All yours. Get started free

• TikTok is coming to podcasting, with the announcement of the TikTok Podcast Network, containing up to 25 new shows hosted by TikTok creators. TikTok is working with iHeartMedia, who will create co-branded, state of the art video-capable podcast studios in LA, NY and Atlanta. The companies will also launch radio stations and live events.
• Podcasting is “probably the hottest category of media right now”, according to iHeart CEO Bob Pittman. iHeartMedia announced its financial report for Q3/25. Podcast revenue grew +22.5% year-on-year to $139.7mn. About half of iHeart’s podcasting advertising revenue came from iHeart’s local sales force - that figure was 11% in Q3/20. Podcasting contributed a record 14% to the business's revenue; “We believe we have the most profitable podcasting business in the United States.”
  • The “multiplatform group”, which runs the radio stations, saw revenue down 5%. The company announced an additional $50mn of savings for next year.
• Two announcements in the past twenty-four hours show radio companies focusing on digital ad buys:
  • Ad-buying platform StackAdapt announced an integration with iHeartMedia to incorporate broadcast radio into its programmatic ad-planning tools. AM/FM radio continues to hold 64% of all daily ad-supported audio listening.
  • Meanwhile, J-ET, the UK radio trading system, has added digital audio trading (including podcasts) to its tool, working with Global’s DAX and Bauer’s AudioXI. J-ET has been digitally trading linear radio since 2002, and handles more than 98% of national radio sales in the country.

> > > Read more of today’s podcast industry news stories on the Podnews website: and get our free daily newsletter.

Classifieds - your job or ad here

• Should you change your podcast name? — Discover the proven signals that show when a new name can grow your audience and when it will stall your progress. Learn how to decide with confidence before you rename your podcast.
• Turn your audience into income. — BackBeat Media connects independent podcasters with sponsors who actually belong on your show. Have 10k+ downloads per episode? Let’s talk.

Gold supporters: Buzzsprout, Mowpod, Mamamia, PodMatch, The $100 MBA, Cloud10, Sounds Profitable, The Podglomerate, Steve Lack: Audio, Simplecast, Cohost, SALT, PAVE Studios, Podscribe, RedCircle, audioBoom, Resound, Audiohook, Riverside.fm, Jar Podcast Solutions, Podchaser, Awesound, Acast, Disctopia, We Edit Podcasts, Podpage websites, Knucklehead Media Group, Evergreen Podcasts

Silver supporters: Audacia Audio, Gamut Podcast Network, Bumper, Goalhanger, Sounds Debatable, Magellan AI, Storyboard, SoundStack, POW PR, ARN's iHeartPodcast Network Aust, Gumball, Huberman Lab, Red Seat Ventures, The Roost, Frequency, Podium , PodAnalyst, Gilded Audio, Ausha, Tink Media, The Podcast Haven, Compliance Podcast Network, Voxtopica, Truefans, Castbox, Ask Ralph Christian Finance, Jonekiri, Beamly, Message Heard, Health Podcast Network, Blubrry, Rephonic, Double Elvis Productions, Lemonada Media, Podcast Taxi, matchmaker.fm, Optimal Living Daily, Ossa Collective, Jam Street Media, Sonic Influencer Marketing, Oxford Road, Diversion Podcasts, Rhapsody Voices, Wondery, Headliner, Heartcast Media50, Transistor, Zvook, Castos, Content10x, Ad Results Media, Hear.Here.Singapore, Podcast Partnership, StreamGuys, Cleanfeed, She Podcasts, Adopter Media, School of Podcasting, Podigy, Lower Street, Revolver Podcasts, Podcast Movement, Sonix, Signal Hill Insights, Edison Research

Our supporters pay for Podnews, so everyone can read it. Join them today.

Image: Collabstr