US Podcast advertising spending fell sharply in January following the holiday-season surge, though several major brands maintained strong investments in the medium, according to new estimates from Magellan AI.
The top 15 podcast advertisers spent a combined $59.8 million in January, down from $75.9 million in December — a 21% month-on-month decline. The slowdown reflects a typical post-holiday reset after heavy fourth-quarter spending.
Despite the pullback, leading brands continued to allocate substantial budgets to podcasts. Telecom major T-Mobile topped the January rankings with an estimated $5.9 million in spend. Online therapy platform BetterHelp followed at $5.6 million, while apparel brand Quince spent $5.2 million.
Sports betting operator FanDuel ranked fourth with $5.2 million. Rocket Companies placed fifth at $4.5 million, distinguishing itself by focusing heavily on science podcasts rather than the sports genre favored by most top advertisers.
E-commerce and retail brands remained active. Shopify invested $4.3 million, while TJX Companies spent $4 million. Automaker Toyota and e-commerce giant Amazon each allocated about $3.7 million.
Financial services and tech brands also featured prominently. DraftKings spent $3.7 million, investing platform Public.com allocated $3.3 million, and Intuit, LinkedIn and Verizon each spent between $2.6 million and $2.9 million. Insurer Progressive rounded out the top 15 with $2.4 million.
Sports podcasts continued to dominate advertiser preference, serving as the primary genre for most top spenders due to their scale and predictable reach. However, comedy and news podcasts attracted brands such as BetterHelp, Quince and Shopify, indicating a mix of mass-reach and targeted engagement strategies.
Magellan AI’s “movers and shakers” — the fastest-growing advertisers — collectively spent $15.4 million in January, nearly flat compared with $15.5 million in December. Intuit led this group, increasing its spend more than fivefold month-on-month to $2.9 million as tax season marketing accelerated. Consumer goods giant Unilever followed with $1.7 million, marking a sharp increase.
Several brands entered podcast advertising at scale. Monday.com spent $1.4 million, while financial services firm Blucora invested $1.3 million. Home services marketplace ANGI Group also surpassed $1 million after minimal December activity.
Magellan AI said its estimates are based on analysis of advertising data from the top 3,000 podcasts in the U.S., ranked by Apple Podcasts. The firm uses a proprietary model that factors in ad load, episode downloads and estimated CPMs drawn from media kits and popularity metrics.
The January figures suggest that while podcast advertising cooled after the holiday peak, core advertisers and new entrants continue to see value in the format.
