Programmatic advertising has taken over the digital world. It’s fast, automated, and helps advertisers stretch their budgets further.
Globally, programmatic now dominates display ads, capturing nearly 90% of all spend in 2025 and accounting for more than 96% of new growth in the category. It also represents nearly three-quarters of connected TV buys.
Now advertisers are beginning to look for the same simplicity in podcasts. Podcasting, however, isn’t structured quite like display or TV. It’s more open, diverse, and wide-ranging, which can make programmatic podcast advertising a little more complex to scale. As a result, publishers may miss out on opportunities.
The encouraging news is that publishers who tailor their shows for programmatic buyers with better workflows and smarter adtech can unlock new revenue while preserving the authenticity that listeners value most.
The Promise of Programmatic Buying for Podcasts
The opportunity is clear. Programmatic buying allows advertisers to target by demographics, geography, context, or behavior, and to adjust campaigns in real time. That flexibility is now making its way into podcasting.
Take a brand aiming to reach new parents. With programmatic, ads can be delivered on parenting shows during the day, then shift to broader lifestyle podcasts in the evening. That kind of agility is exactly what advertisers want.
Podcast advertising in the US brought in $2.4 billion in 2024, up 26% from the year before. And the momentum isn’t stopping—revenues are on track to top $2.6 billion by 2026. The question isn’t whether to adopt programmatic anymore; it’s how fast publishers can move to seize the opportunity.
How AdsWizz Helps Publishers Scale
One of the biggest shifts for publishers has been the rise of supply-side platforms built specifically for audio. AdsWizz’s AudioMax SSP is an ideal example. It was the first SSP designed for audio, built more than a decade ago, long before most of the industry recognized the potential of programmatic audio. Instead of trying to adapt tools made for other media, AudioMax SSP gives publishers what they actually need: efficiency, insight, and control.
Efficiency is at the heart of AudioMax SSP. It connects seamlessly to every type of demand, including programmatic, direct, resellers, and marketplaces. It optimizes yield across all channels so that no inventory goes to waste and every impression reaches its full value. Insights come from transparent reporting that shows which campaigns perform best and which partners drive meaningful revenue. Control means managing the listening experience with precision, setting frequency caps, maintaining brand safety, and ensuring every ad fits the tone of the show.
For publishers, these are not abstract features. They are the real levers that make it possible to grow audio revenue intelligently while preserving the authenticity that makes podcasting so powerful.
Host-Read Ads
Enhanced adtech sets the stage for growth, but true success requires balancing automation with authenticity.
Host-read ads remain one of podcasting’s secret weapons. They build trust, and listeners often treat a host’s recommendation like advice from a friend. It is no surprise that, according to Grand View Research, host-read ads accounted for more than 62% of podcast advertising revenue in 2024. But scaling them across shows and formats is not easy. That is where AdsWizz’s automated host-read ads offer a solution, blending the warmth of a host with the precision and targeting of programmatic tools.
Brand Safety
Brand safety in audio has two sides, and both are essential. For publishers, it’s about protecting the listener experience: keeping ads relevant, blocking sensitive IAB categories, and maintaining the tone that keeps audiences engaged. No one wants a jarring message breaking the flow of a show.
For advertisers, brand safety means something else entirely. It’s the confidence that every campaign is running in the right environment, that budgets are being spent on quality inventory with real value. This is where AdsWizz technology makes a difference. Every show in the ecosystem is scanned, transcribed, and categorized into brand-safe segments, giving advertisers the clarity they need to invest wisely and at scale.
By balancing both sides, AdsWizz helps publishers grow authentically and gives advertisers confidence that their messages reach the right audiences. In the end, brand safety comes down to trust, the foundation of a healthy audio ecosystem.
Programmatic Deal Types
Safeguarding the listener experience is only half the equation. To succeed with programmatic, publishers also need a clear view of how deal structures work. The type of deal shapes how much control publishers hold, how steady the revenue is, and how broad their base of potential advertisers can be.
There are four main deal types publishers should understand:
- Programmatic guaranteed: A direct deal executed programmatically. Advertisers get guaranteed inventory and pricing while publishers reduce manual work. It combines the predictability of traditional direct deals with the automation and reporting benefits of programmatic.
- Preferred deals: A fixed-price agreement where publishers offer inventory to selected advertisers before it goes to auction. There’s no guarantee of volume, but advertisers get priority access and publishers maintain price control.
- Private marketplaces (PMPs): Invite-only auctions where publishers offer premium inventory to select buyers. They combine exclusivity with automation.
- Marketplace auction: The broadest marketplace, where many demand sources compete for impressions in real time. It delivers scale but offers less control.
Building the Foundation for Monetization
Deal structures define how programmatic transactions work. But to translate those transactions into sustainable growth, publishers need a broader framework that brings all the pieces together. That’s where building the foundations for monetization comes in.
- Smarter supply paths: Choose curated, transparent marketplaces that prioritize quality and make it easier for advertisers to buy inventory with confidence.
- Balanced revenue strategy: AudioMax SSP connects with all major DSPs and optimizes audio supply across ad slots, break length, and feed data so programmatic, direct, and host-read deals work together seamlessly.
- Brand safety by design: Integrate safeguards like category blocking and frequency caps from the start.
- Education and enablement: Train internal teams and help advertisers access your inventory confidently.
Scaling Smarter, Earning More
Podcasting has always thrived on trust and intimacy. Programmatic advertising adds the scale and flexibility that publishers need to grow, without taking away the authenticity that makes the medium special. The real opportunity lies in combining both. Publishers who embrace programmatic as part of a balanced strategy will open new revenue streams, strengthen relationships with advertisers, and keep listeners coming back.
Connect with us now to grow revenue while keeping the podcast listening experience authentic!
by Jerome Camerlynck, Director of Product Management at AdsWizz
