Direct-response advertising made up 54% of podcast advertising in 2019 — up from 52% in 2018, according to Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) data released Monday.

Brand awareness made up 42% in 2019, up from 38% in 2018. Brand content made up 3% in 2019, down from 10% in 2018.

The data is part of the fourth annual Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Podcast Advertising Revenue Report prepared by PwC.

There’s a lot of interest in podcasts. Omnicom Media Group, for example, plans to spend $20 million on advertising in podcasts distributed by Spotify Technology under a deal during the second half of this year, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Podcast advertising revenue is expected to climb 14.7% this year — approaching $1 billion in the United States, but down from an estimated 29.6% growth prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pre-COVID-19 advertising revenue for 2021 was expected to grow 55%, and in 2022 revenue was expected to rise 36% year-over-year.

Actual growth numbers in 2019 were 48%, reaching $708.1 million.

The annual survey was conducted in mid-March to understand 2019 podcast advertising revenue and forecast revenue growth from 2020 to 2022. The same group was re-surveyed in mid-April to determine the impact of podcast advertising revenue and projections related to COVID-19 for 2020.

The report released today shows that marketers who make podcasts part of their annual media buy rose 47% in 2019, while some advertising declined to 21% of overall buys.

• DTC brands at 22% and financial services at 16% make up top podcast advertisers
• Health & Wellness and Home & Appliance are the largest direct-to-consumer sub-categories
• News is the leading podcast content genre for U.S. podcast advertisers, capturing 22% of revenue
• Comedy at 17% makes up the second-largest following, and society and culture at 13% makes up the third-largest
• Business at 11% and True Crime at 9% round out the top five

The IAB also forecast growth in 2021 to reach 55%, and 2022 numbers were revised down to 36% growth.