Podcasts have grown in popularity in recent years. With the growing demand and supply
of podcasts, the new medium is increasingly used an advertising channel. A study
was conducted to comprehend how listeners feel about advertisements heard on podcasts
because this greatly determines the effectiveness of the ads. Additionally, prior
research on the subject is scarce due to the recency of podcasts. Firstly, the aim of the study was to measure listeners’ attitudes in six dimensions (pleasure, lack of disturbance, acceptance, informational value, perceived quality and trust) which were identified from secondary research. Secondly, the study also examined whether attitudes differ significantly between groups of different genders, ages or listening intensities. It was also hypothesized that having a more positive attitude would correlate with a lower tendency to skip ads. Data was collected using a quantitative survey with a sample of 101 participants and then analyzed using SPSS. The results show that attitudes towards podcast advertising are generally rather negative. Although the majority accepts ads to get the content for free, ads are still found to be unpleasant and disruptive to the listening experience. As a result, most listeners report skipping ads always or often. This seems to be a general opinion as no significant differences were found between different genders, age groups or listening intensities. However, a significant correlation between attitude and the tendency to listen to advertisements was confirmed. This underscores the important role listeners’ attitudes play in determining advertising effectiveness. In summary, advertisers should carefully compare (the reach of) podcasts to other advertising
channel options, especially given the high likelihood and ease of skipping ads.
