RAWVOICE

Podcasting Consolidates – But Don’t Expect Programmatic Ad Buying Just Yet

The podcasting landscape is consolidating as EW Scripps acquires Midroll and Stitchr, iHeartMedia gains Stuff Media, Spotify owns Gimlet Media and the Anchor platform, and Pandora controls the PodWave programmatic podcast exchange. Despite these moves, advertisers should not expect immediate improvements in granular targeting or automated buying, because Apple still dominates listening share and withholds listener-level data from advertisers. Industry voices note that to compete in ad tech, players must own multiple pieces of the value chain, and real-time targeting remains unlikely while Apple remains a major distribution force. While platforms can leverage listener behavior for targeted ads, scale across a single platform is not yet sufficient for precise targeting. Some executives anticipate gradual programmatic adoption, aided by personalized recommendations (e.g., Pandora’s Genome project) and broader investments, with Spotify signaling continued expansion of its podcast offerings. The market appears to be expanding with ongoing consolidation and potential new entrants like Wondery.

IAB Tech Lab Launches Podcast Measurement Compliance Program; Index Exchange Sees Immediate Lift for Publishers After Implementing The Trade Desk’s Unified ID Solution - ExchangeWire.com

ExchangeWire summarizes four major ad tech updates. The IAB Tech Lab launched the Podcast Measurement Compliance Program to standardize podcast advertising metrics, with NPR and Rawvoice/Blubrry the first to earn certification under the December 2017 guidelines. The program addresses measurement fragmentation by establishing common metrics and transparent processes. Index Exchange reports a near-immediate lift after adopting The Trade Desk’s Unified ID solution, with match rates reaching 99% and broader audience reach, as The Trade Desk offers its cookie footprint at no cost. Integral Ad Science and YouTube have moved their Brand Safety and Suitability solution from beta to general availability for advertisers, backed by machine learning and human review. Finally, Signal and Flashtalking announced a partnership to extend Signal’s identity resolution to Flashtalking’s ad-serving capabilities, enabling cross-device, personalized campaigns.

IAB Tech Lab Launches A Compliance Program To Improve Podcast Measurement

The IAB Tech Lab launched a compliance program for podcast measurement to standardize analytics across publishers and platforms, based on the IAB's Podcast Measurement Technical Guidelines. RawVoice/Blubrry and NPR are the first certified publishers, with several more in certification or onboarding. The rigorous process involves an external auditing firm and line-by-line code review. Certification aims to provide transparency for buyers and reduce measurement variance, though it may not eliminate all differences. The IAB expects podcast ad revenue to grow 110% to $659 million by 2020. NPR released its Remote Audio Data spec to improve data collection, while Apple has not announced support and Google has not provided exact client-side reporting. Company leaders emphasize credibility and baseline transparency as benefits, and the program is seen as a step toward more standardized podcast measurement.