iHeartMedia opens OTA broadcast radio to Viant's programmatic buyers

Advertisers using Viant's demand-side platform gained programmatic access to iHeartMedia's complete audio network on December 18, 2025, including over-the-air broadcast radio inventory that has historically required manual buying processes and direct station negotiations.

The integration connects Viant's AI-powered advertising platform with Triton Digital's technology infrastructure, which manages iHeartMedia's extensive audio catalog spanning podcasts, streaming services, and broadcast radio. According to the announcement, this marks the first time OTA broadcast radio inventory has become available through Viant's platform for programmatic transactions.

"Audio is one of the most engaging mediums and has truly evolved into a dynamic, data-driven channel," said Richie Hyden, SVP of Publisher Solutions at Viant. The partnership enables advertisers to activate campaigns across podcast programming, streaming audio platforms, and AM/FM broadcast stations through unified programmatic workflows rather than managing each format through separate buying channels.

Lisa Coffey, Chief Business Officer for iHeartMedia, characterized the integration as pivotal for audio advertising performance. "This allows advertisers to programmatically access the full spectrum of iHeart's audio network — from podcasts and streaming to broadcast radio — with the precision, transparency, and performance they expect from digital," Coffey said.

Triton Digital operates as the technical intermediary facilitating programmatic access to iHeartMedia's inventory. The platform processes billions of monthly dynamically inserted audio ad impressions globally and provides the infrastructure that connects publisher inventory with demand-side platforms seeking automated buying capabilities.

The technical implementation provides Viant users with addressable campaign activation across audio formats that have traditionally operated through separate sales channels. Broadcast radio buying has required manual processes including rate negotiations, insertion orders, and campaign trafficking managed through direct relationships between advertisers and station groups. The programmatic integration eliminates these workflows by enabling data-driven purchases through automated systems.

iHeartMedia maintains the largest audio reach in the United States and ranks as the number one podcast publisher globally according to Podtrac measurements. The company operates over 860 broadcast stations reaching audiences across 160+ markets nationally. Its podcast network includes thousands of shows spanning news, entertainment, sports, and specialized content categories. Streaming audio services deliver on-demand programming through the iHeartRadio digital platform.

The integration addresses what the companies describe as audio advertising's transformation from primarily reach-focused campaigns to data-driven performance marketing. Broadcast radio has historically sold inventory based on demographic estimates derived from survey data and daypart pricing rather than individual listener targeting capabilities. Programmatic infrastructure enables audience segmentation using behavioral data, first-party information, and contextual signals that mirror targeting precision available in display and video advertising.

The partnership brings broadcast radio into alignment with broader industry movements toward omnichannel audio strategies. iHeartMedia and Magnite launched an omnichannel audio advertising marketplace in January 2024, combining broadcast radio, streaming services, and podcast assets for programmatic transactions. That partnership provided advertisers with direct access to iHeartMedia's inventory through Magnite's supply-side platform infrastructure.

StackAdapt integrated iHeartMedia broadcast radio into its programmatic platform in November 2025, enabling marketers to plan, forecast, purchase, measure, and report on AM/FM broadcast alongside digital audio formats. The November integration marked a substantial expansion of programmatic access to traditional broadcast inventory through demand-side platforms.

The current Viant integration extends this pattern by bringing broadcast radio to another major DSP, expanding the programmatic marketplace for iHeartMedia's traditional radio inventory. Multiple demand-side platforms now provide automated buying pathways to broadcast stations that once required direct sales relationships and manual campaign execution processes.

Viant positions itself as a leader in connected television and AI-powered programmatic advertising. The company recently received recognition including Best AI-Powered Advertising Solution and Best Demand-Side Platform from MarTech Breakthrough, along with Best Strategic AI Platform at the Adweek Tech Stack Awards. The platform emphasizes omnichannel capabilities that enable marketers to plan, execute, and measure campaigns across multiple media formats through unified interfaces.

The audio advertising market faces a persistent investment gap despite strong consumer engagement levels. Audio accounts for 31% of consumers' total media time but receives only 9% of advertising budgets, creating a 22-percentage-point disparity that represents untapped potential for marketers willing to allocate resources toward audio channels. This measurement gap exists partly because audio advertising has historically lacked the granular performance metrics available for display and video formats.

AM/FM radio maintains 64% of all daily ad-supported audio listening, driven largely by local programming that resonates in rural and remote communities where streaming penetration remains lower than in urban markets. Broadcast radio provides mass reach capabilities that complement the precision targeting available through digital audio platforms, enabling advertisers to construct full-funnel strategies that combine broad awareness building with targeted conversion campaigns.

The integration enables what the announcement describes as "complementary pillars of the modern audio strategy." Podcasts deliver depth, authenticity, and engagement through long-form content that builds sustained audience relationships. Broadcast radio brings reach and frequency capabilities that drive brand awareness across mass audiences. Streaming audio provides on-demand access and playlist-based discovery that matches listener preferences with appropriate advertising moments.

Programmatic infrastructure unifies these formats through common buying interfaces and measurement frameworks. Advertisers can now allocate budgets across audio channels based on performance data rather than predetermined splits between digital and traditional media. Real-time optimization enables campaign adjustments that shift spending toward formats delivering superior results for specific objectives, whether those objectives involve awareness, consideration, or conversion outcomes.

The technical architecture supporting the integration relies on Triton Digital's advertising technology stack. Triton operates as a global technology and services provider to digital audio, podcast, and broadcast radio industries across more than 80 countries. The company provides streaming infrastructure, ad serving capabilities, and measurement services that power online audio ecosystems.

Triton Digital has expanded programmatic audio capabilities substantially throughout 2025. The company launched AdBuilder AI in October, a self-serve platform with AI-powered creative generation supporting 60+ languages for publishers seeking to capture small and mid-sized business advertising budgets. Triton partnered with ekoz.ai to introduce AI voice cloning for programmatic podcast advertisements in March, enabling scaled host-read campaigns while maintaining creator control.

Sharon Taylor, Chief Revenue Officer at Triton Digital, predicted on December 5 that audio will become fully omnichannel and identity-powered by 2026. Taylor's forecast suggests streaming, podcasts, and broadcast radio will become identity-infused and programmatically available through enterprise demand-side platforms, enabling deduplicated reach and unified frequency control across audio formats.

The evolution toward programmatic broadcast radio addresses operational inefficiencies that have historically separated traditional and digital audio buying. Marketing teams have managed broadcast campaigns through different workflows, personnel, and measurement systems compared to digital audio campaigns. This separation creates organizational silos that prevent cross-channel optimization and limit budget flexibility based on performance data.

Political advertising represents a significant use case for programmatic broadcast radio capabilities. The 2026 election cycle will test whether programmatic infrastructure can deliver the scale and compliance required for political campaigns. Political advertisers seek trusted, regulated environments that reach voters across diverse geographic markets. Broadcast radio provides both regulatory compliance frameworks and mass reach that digital-only campaigns struggle to replicate at comparable scale.

The integration arrives during sustained growth in programmatic audio advertising adoption. Podcast advertising spending surged 26% year-over-year in the third quarter of 2025, with nearly 1,700 brands testing the channel for the first time. However, the persistent gap between consumer audio engagement and advertiser investment suggests substantial room for continued market expansion.

Competitive dynamics in the audio advertising technology sector have intensified throughout 2025. Amazon DSP and SiriusXM Media expanded programmatic audio reach in September 2025, providing marketers using Amazon's demand-side platform access to SiriusXM Media's extensive digital audio portfolio including Pandora and SoundCloud. The partnership leveraged Amazon's first-party insights combined with clean room technology to improve targeting precision and campaign performance.

The Washington Post selected Triton Digital in November 2025 to power its complete digital audio infrastructure, including podcast hosting, programmatic advertising sales, and audience measurement capabilities. Premium publishers have historically maintained controlled advertising environments to protect editorial integrity, but have increasingly determined that programmatic infrastructure has matured sufficiently to meet quality standards while unlocking efficiency gains.

The Viant-iHeartMedia integration demonstrates how broadcast radio inventory is transitioning from exclusively direct sales models to hybrid approaches incorporating programmatic transactions. This transition mirrors patterns observed across other traditional media channels including television, where connected TV platforms have introduced programmatic buying capabilities that coexist with upfront negotiations and guaranteed buys.

Measurement capabilities will prove critical for sustained programmatic broadcast radio adoption. Advertisers accustomed to digital attribution models expect to evaluate audio campaign performance through metrics including reach, frequency, completion rates, and conversion attribution. These analytics enable comparison between audio and other media channels within unified reporting dashboards, supporting optimization decisions that improve return on advertising spend across omnichannel campaigns.

The announcement positions broadcast radio within broader programmatic audio ecosystems rather than as an isolated inventory type. This positioning reflects industry consensus that audio advertising will succeed through integration with comprehensive media strategies rather than remaining separate from digital marketing workflows. The technical infrastructure enabling this integration has developed substantially, addressing previous limitations around targeting precision, measurement reliability, and campaign optimization capabilities.

For marketing professionals, the Viant integration expands programmatic buying options across audio formats that collectively represent significant consumer attention but have received disproportionately low advertising investment. The ability to activate broadcast radio campaigns through the same platforms managing connected television, display, and video advertising simplifies operational workflows and enables budget allocation decisions based on unified performance data.

The partnership between Viant, iHeartMedia, and Triton Digital represents the continuing evolution of audio advertising from impression-based media buying to outcome-focused performance marketing. By bringing over-the-air broadcast inventory into programmatic platforms alongside digital audio formats, the integration addresses fragmentation that has complicated full-funnel audio strategy development and limited optimization opportunities across the audio landscape.

Timeline

• January 10, 2024: iHeartMedia and Magnite launch omnichannel audio advertising marketplace bringing broadcast radio, streaming radio, and podcast assets to programmatic channels
• March 2025: Triton Digital partners with ekoz.ai to launch AI-powered voice cloning for programmatic podcast advertisements
• July 26, 2025: Audio advertising market analysis reveals 22% gap between consumer engagement and advertiser investment
• September 16, 2025: Amazon and SiriusXM expand programmatic audio reach through Amazon DSP integration
• September 30, 2025: DeepIntent launches HealthFirst Audio Package unifying connected TV and audio for healthcare advertising
• October 30, 2025: Triton Digital launches AdBuilder AI with AI-powered creative generation supporting 60+ languages
• November 10, 2025: StackAdapt integrates iHeartMedia broadcast radio into programmatic platform
• November 13, 2025: Washington Post partners with Triton Digital for podcast monetization strategy
• December 4, 2025: Triton Digital expands Omny Studio with video podcast creation, distribution, and monetization support
• December 5, 2025: Triton Digital's Sharon Taylor predicts audio will become fully omnichannel by 2026
• December 18, 2025: Viant and iHeartMedia announce strategic integration bringing OTA broadcast radio to Viant's programmatic platform through Triton Digital infrastructure

Summary

Who: Viant Technology Inc., a leader in connected television and AI-powered programmatic advertising, partnered with iHeartMedia, the largest audio company in the United States and number one podcast publisher globally according to Podtrac. The integration operates through Triton Digital, the global technology and services provider to digital audio, podcast, and broadcast radio industries.

What: The partnership enables programmatic access to iHeartMedia's complete audio network through Viant's demand-side platform. Advertisers can now activate addressable campaigns across podcasts, streaming audio, and over-the-air broadcast radio inventory. The integration marks the first time OTA broadcast radio has become available through Viant's platform, eliminating manual buying processes previously required for traditional radio inventory. The technical implementation connects Viant's AI-powered advertising technology with Triton Digital's infrastructure managing billions of monthly audio ad impressions globally.

When: Viant announced the strategic integration with iHeartMedia on December 18, 2025. The partnership follows a series of industry developments throughout 2025 that expanded programmatic access to broadcast radio inventory, including StackAdapt's November integration and the January 2024 iHeartMedia-Magnite omnichannel marketplace launch.

Where: The integration provides programmatic access to iHeartMedia's United States audio network, including over 860 broadcast stations across 160+ markets, thousands of podcasts, and streaming services through the iHeartRadio digital platform. Viant operates through its demand-side platform serving advertisers globally, while Triton Digital's technology infrastructure powers online audio operations across more than 80 countries.

Why: The partnership addresses the persistent gap between consumer audio engagement and advertiser investment, with audio commanding 31% of media consumption time but receiving only 9% of advertising budgets. By bringing broadcast radio into programmatic platforms alongside digital audio formats, the integration eliminates operational silos separating traditional and digital media buying. Advertisers gain unified campaign management across audio formats with precision targeting, transparent measurement, and performance optimization capabilities previously unavailable for broadcast inventory. The partnership reflects broader industry transformation from impression-based media buying to data-driven performance marketing across all audio channels.