Audio in CTV Strategy, Digital Audio's 2026 Forecast, & More

by Gavin Gaddis

The Rehearsal Was Never the Point by Jack Levy 

Table reads have long been a part of the fabric of Hollywood. They have existed in back rooms and private settings and have served as a fundamental storytelling tool. But Jack Levy, co-founder of Manifest Media Productions is challenging all of that with the Table Read podcast, a fiction podcast featuring award-winning actors and storytellers performing unproduced film and TV scripts. Levy shares how the table read format provides the consistency needed to create a quality podcast experience and grow an audience. A point that Levy and his team proved in real time during Podcast Movement Evolutions at SXSW where they performed the first-ever live recording of the podcast last week.

Why audio may be the missing piece in CTV strategy by Dave Sosson

AdsWizz Senior Manager, Business Development Dave Sosson writes about rising connected television (CTV) budgets. More impressions do not guarantee better performance in a fragmented attention economy. A 2023 SiriusXM Media and Nielsen study of 600 participants found retail campaigns combining audio advertising and CTV had a 12-point lift in aided recall in comparison to exclusively CTV campaigns. A 2025 study from EMG and SiriusXM, built from analysis of over 1,400 streaming audio campaigns for automotive dealerships, found adding streaming audio to CTV campaigns brought a 21.8% gain in local market share on average. By shifting some of a CTV budget over to audio, advertisers diversify the ways they connect with consumers. For example, Sosson proposes a retail campaign that promotes a deal via podcast ad, then reinforces it that evening with a CTV spot featuring visuals. Audio establishes context, CTV then deepens the story. 

Madison And Wall Sees New Opportunities For Audio.

Media consulting firm Madison and Wall have updated their advertising outlook for 2026. Total U.S. ad spend is forecast to increase 8.1% year-over-year, up from their previous estimate of 6.6%. The move is motivated by advertisers raising budgets across the board, according to Madison and Wall Managing Director Luke Stillman. Digital audio, including broadcaster streaming revenue, podcast ads, and music streaming services, is anticipated to grow 4% this year. Traditional audio advertising linked to radio is anticipated to decline 4%. Stillman says making audio inventory as convenient as possible will be an important factor in promoting more ad spend growth.