Host-read ad rates

This is the Modeler’s default, stated plainly

The Test Modeler’s host-read setting uses $24-26 CPM: the Libsyn Ads 60-second host-read row Libsyn Ads · Jul 2026, quoted verbatim in the Session Log. One marketplace’s card is one marketplace’s card; it is the default because it is the only full public one left, not because it governs every seller.

Why host-reads carry a premium

Against the $15 pre-recorded floor Acast Learning Center · Jul 2026, the host-read premium is roughly $9-11 per thousand at published rates. What you are buying: the host’s voice in the listener’s established feed, ad copy delivered as conversation, and spots that often persist in back catalog. The evidence that this converts better comes mostly from parties selling host-reads, so treat the premium as a hypothesis your promo-code data confirms or kills.

What moves a quote above the card

Category exclusivity, embedded (baked-in) placement rights, back-catalog runs, top-of-charts shows, and short flights that deny the seller schedule efficiency. None of these have published price deltas anywhere, so negotiate them explicitly: ask what the quote would be without each add-on. The 30s vs 60s question has its own page: ad length.

Where the sweet spot sits

For a first host-read buy, mid-tail shows (roughly 10,000-50,000 downloads per episode) balance signal against cost: big enough to read results, small enough that three spots fit a $2,500 test. Chart-toppers price off their own gravity and rarely quote near any card.