AudioOne recently approached Magellan AI and asked whether we could give advertisers and agencies in Ireland benchmarks for the podcast market, like the ones we publish for the US and Australia.

Our data team mapped podcast advertising across popular Irish shows in the first half of 2026 and compared it with the same period in 2025. Our models see both the brands buying ads and the shows carrying them, listening across thousands of podcast episodes to detect each ad and the spend behind it.

That comparison showed spend up 33% year on year, most of it going to brand awareness campaigns. Shopify, Comcast, and Novibet led all advertisers, and financial services drew the most spend of any category. Ad load, the share of episode time dedicated to ads, averaged 5.71% across the market. The report breaks down additional dimensions, including the most common ad lengths and positions.

"When advertisers can see what's working, they invest with more conviction," said Cameron Hendrix, co-founder and CEO of Magellan AI. "This report brings that visibility to podcast advertising in Ireland for the first time."

"Advertisers and agencies have been asking for proper benchmarks, and Ireland finally has the data," said Lee Thompson, co-founder and managing director of AudioOne. "This is a real milestone for our podcast industry, and a sign of how far the channel has come."

Sean Davis, sales director at Bauer Media Audio Ireland, said, "Podcasting has become a significant part of Ireland's audio landscape, and stronger, more consistent measurement is essential to its continued growth. Greater visibility of the market builds confidence, supports better planning and ultimately helps unlock further investment in Irish podcasting."

The full H1 2026 Ireland Podcast Advertising Benchmark Report is available for download below.

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