Do Podcast Ads Do More Harm Than Good?
06 April 2026

Do Podcast Ads Do More Harm Than Good?

PodCraft by Alitu: Honing the Craft of Podcasting

About

Back in November, our Independent Podcaster Report found that only 15% of creators were actively monetising their shows. Of those that did, the majority were running ads and sponsorship.

If you missed it, ​the full report is here​.

This week on Podcraft, we got into the thornier side of that: can ads erode audience trust? Are they an annoyance? And how many is too many?

We picked apart some other claims, too:

    AI voices will become indistinguishable from real hostsOne viral clip can change everythingYouTube rewards podcasters more than podcast apps doIf you don't have 5+ hours a week, don't start a podcastYour podcast idea isn't uniqueIf you're not getting feedback, your podcast isn't memorable

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