An advertising body's report on unreliable podcast measurement raises questions for Christian media organisations seeking to prove audience reach to funders and advertisers.
The IAB reports that advertisers want to invest in podcasts but are held back by inconsistent measurement of listeners across platforms. Two existing technical standards exist for download and video-impression counting, but the industry still lacks a reliable way to deduplicate listeners across platforms. For Christian media organisations producing podcasts, this measurement gap matters because it affects their ability to demonstrate audience size and engagement to advertisers or donors. A format that churches and ministries increasingly use for outreach may struggle to attract funding if its reach cannot be clearly quantified.
ECMS 2026 found that 44 per cent of under-35 respondents listen to Christian podcasts compared with 21 per cent of over-55s, a difference worth noting given the industry’s own measurement concerns.
Source: ECMS 2026