Podcasts surged in popularity last year, with advertising revenue growing to an estimated $479.1 million — a 53 percent rise from the year before.

According to a report by the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PwC, podcast advertising is expected to reach $1 billion by 2021.

The study is based on self-reported ad revenue in the podcast arena from companies that sell ads on podcast platforms.

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Breaking down ad revenue by genre, the report found that the top five most popular podcast categories in 2018 were news, politics and current events, which delivered 18.4 percent of advertising revenue.

Comedy followed with 13.9 percent, business-to-business with 12.8 percent, education with 10.6 percent, and arts and entertainment 10 percent of ad revenue.

According to a March report by Edison Research, the number of podcast listeners in the U.S. has increased markedly in the past year.

More than half of the U.S. population of those ages 12 and older have listened to a podcast, the first time the number has surpassed the 50 percent mark, according to the report. Among those 12-34 years old, that number jumps to 70 percent.

The research also showed that more than 30 percent of those surveyed are currently listening to at least one podcast per month — nearly 90 million people.