December 18, 2025

Study: YouTube ads work up to 25% worse than audio

4 minutes

Sponsored by Magellan AI. Renewal and response signals helped Boll & Branch fine-tune campaigns and lift ROI. Get the full story with Magellan AI

Why would anyone knowingly buy ads on a platform that works up to 25% worse? New research today from Oxford Road suggests that, in spite of the hype around YouTube, ads on YouTube shows are less effective than on audio-only podcasts. The data is based on more than a thousand campaigns - and shows that video comes at a heavy cost to advertisers, who might be better buying audio instead.

The data is also covered in the Wall Street Journal today.

Initial Group has acquired podcast and YouTube producer Silver Tribe Media. No terms were given; the company will be called Initial Digital. Silver Tribe’s clients include Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Studios, and Colin Cowherd’s The Volume, among others.

Now, short-form video is coming to books. Audible is adding swipeable vertical videos in its app, including trailers, author interviews, and behind-the-scenes clips, for select publishers. Here's an example of what you might see.

> > > Read more of today’s podcast industry news stories on the Podnews website: and get our free daily newsletter.

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