Has podcasting reached saturation point? Seven specialists weigh in
There are currently more than 4.7m podcasts worldwide, with 90,997 shows published in the last three days at the time of writing, according to the Podcast Index.
That’s a huge amount of choice for advertisers and consumers alike, raising the question: has podcasting reached saturation point?
And as podcasts continue to grow in prominence across culture and the economy, regulation may soon need to catch up. But if it does, what effect could this have on the industry?
In the final instalment of this three-part series examining the future of podcasting, The Media Leader spoke to industry experts about whether the medium has reached its peak, and what impact future regulation might have.
Contributors include:
- Stuart Last, CEO of Audioboom
- Greg Glenday, CEO of Acast
- Ed Washington, head of digital strategy at Reach Studio
- Bryan Barletta, partner at Sounds Profitable and president of Podcast Movement
- Dan Box, head of podcasts at The Times and The Sunday Times
- Amber Neary, head of podcasts, commercial, at Times Media
- Lucie Cave, CCO of podcasts and commercial content at Bauer Media
Podcasting has become a highly saturated market. Can it continue to grow, or has it reached its peak?
We don’t think it’s anywhere near saturation. The reality is the industry is just getting started.
Stuart Last, Audioboom: “I don’t think there is a peak for podcasting because the medium is constantly evolving. In many ways, podcasting is more like books than television, in that audiences actively pick and choose what they listen to, which means there is genuinely something for everyone.
“What we are seeing is a fairly rapid evolution of the genre because podcasting is still relatively young as a mainstream medium. Some categories are naturally becoming more crowded and mature than others. For example, celebrity interview formats and general chat shows are highly competitive now, and realistically there are only so many celebrities that a listener will follow.
“At the same time, there is still a huge opportunity for more niche shows, specialist communities and entirely new formats. As audiences continue to fragment across platforms, people increasingly want content that feels tailored to their specific interests rather than broad mass-market programming.
“The barrier to entry is relatively low, which is great as there is no exclusivity – anyone can make a show, but building a genuinely loyal audience is still incredibly difficult. That is ultimately what separates the quality podcasts that last from the thousands that disappear after a handful of episodes.”
Greg Glenday, Acast: “We don’t think it’s anywhere near saturation. The reality is the industry is just getting started. Audiences are discovering new shows every day, and ad spend still significantly lags behind actual consumption, creating a massive opportunity for revenue growth.
“We are moving out of the experimental phase and into an era defined by intentionality, deep resonance, and global expansion. Unlike other media, podcasts are actively sought after by audiences rather than passively served to them by an algorithm. Every touchpoint is entirely intentional. With audiences continuing to lean in and brands finally waking up to the scale, this medium has a long way to go before it peaks.”
Ed Washington, Reach Studio: “Podcasting isn’t peaking, it’s maturing. The golden era of easy audience acquisition is over, but the medium itself continues to expand.
“One critical shift is distribution. Discovery has migrated from podcast apps to social platforms, with clips being essential to driving audiences. Shows succeeding today typically arrive with pre-built audiences, through talent, or invest heavily in short-form content strategies. Consumption never really stops, it just moves.
“Ad revenue continues to grow, but it tends to consolidate at the top. New entrants face higher barriers: production quality expectations have risen, and algorithm-driven discovery favors established creators. The opportunity isn’t gone, it’s changed. Pure audio shows still thrive in niches with dedicated audiences. But for broad reach, podcasting increasingly resembles video content creation, requiring multi-platform distribution and clip-first thinking. The winners going forward will be those who adapt to this hybrid reality.”
Amber Neary, Times Media: “The simple answer is yes, it will continue to grow. At Times Media we want to ensure that our audiences can consume our content via every platform that works for them and their preferences.
“With increasing demand from both our audiences and the brands that partner with us, we are investing in continuing to grow our Podcast portfolio. To keep up with demand we have launched several podcasts in the last 18 months, including The Business and The State of It.”
Can we expect greater regulation of podcasts over the next few years and what effect might that have on the market?
Podcasting has benefited enormously from openness and accessibility, and we want to preserve that. But audiences already expect trust and accountability. Regulation would simply formalise what the best operators are already doing.
Bryan Barletta, Sounds Profitable: “As podcasting grows, we’re seeing more conversations around political advertising, AI-generated content, platform transparency, misinformation, and IP ownership — many of the same issues every major digital media platform is now navigating.
“I think the more likely outcome over the next few years is not heavy-handed regulation of podcast content itself, but increased standardisation around areas like advertising disclosures, measurement transparency, AI labelling, and copyright.
“That could ultimately benefit the industry. Smart standards that improve transparency, advertiser confidence, and consumer trust would make podcasting easier for major brands and agencies to invest in at scale, especially as the medium becomes more integrated into the broader media ecosystem.
“The risk comes if regulation undermines the openness that made podcasting successful in the first place. One of podcasting’s biggest competitive advantages is that creators largely maintain ownership over their audiences, distribution, and monetisation rather than relying entirely on closed platforms.
“The industry’s challenge over the next few years will be finding the balance between modernisation and openness. Podcasting can evolve to meet the expectations of larger advertisers, platforms, and regulators without losing the decentralised structure that helped it grow in the first place.”
Dan Box, The Times and The Sunday Times: “We should definitely expect greater regulation of podcasts because so far the medium has grown faster than the regulators’ ability to catch up. And arguably we need it, as there are some podcasts out there making money off the back of questionable journalism that simply wouldn’t be possible on a regulated TV channel.
“Podcasts currently exist in something of a regulatory grey area. At The Times, we operate within the same exacting editorial standards as the rest of the paper and also voluntarily comply with the terms of the Ofcom code in the absence of any other specific regulation.
“The growth of video as a podcasting medium complicates things again because what exactly are we regulating – video, audio, video + audio, live events, or a format that can exist as either, some of these or all? I don’t see the prospect of regulation as a problem though. When I started working in podcasts, one of the great attractions was that everything was new and we got to decide what a podcast was effectively as we went along. That’s changed and things have become more formal, but not at any detriment to the market, which has continued to grow.
“As journalists we understand codes of practice and appropriate regulation have a role to play in making sure the vast amount of journalism now being done through podcasts is up to the highest possible standard.”
Lucie Cave, Bauer Media: “Greater scrutiny is inevitable. As podcasting becomes more influential and mainstream, questions around health claims, financial advice, political content and misinformation become harder to avoid.
“For established publishers operating within strong editorial frameworks, that’s unlikely to be a threat – if anything, it may become a competitive advantage. Podcasting has benefited enormously from openness and accessibility, and we want to preserve that. But audiences already expect trust and accountability. Regulation would simply formalise what the best operators are already doing.”
For more insights into the podcast market, Adwanted Consulting has released its updated Media Pulse: Podcasts report, examining the UK podcast market from both the commercial perspective and the consumer view.