Megaphone

The IAB’s Podcast Upfronts in May touted advancements in dynamic ad insertion, measurement and attribution and brand safety and suitability, as well as the rise of podcast networks. But ad agencies say the technology powering podcast-based marketing is not sufficiently developed to deliver what advertisers need to effectively target impressions and measure campaign effectiveness. And they believe the industry should do more to address brand safety concerns around podcast content.

Podcast ad revenue in the US cracked $1 billion for the first time last year, due in large part to the rise of dynamic ad insertion (DAI). At $1.4 billion – up 72% from roughly $840 million in 2020 – podcasting is now one of the fastest-growing digital media channels, and it’s growing twice as fast as the internet advertising market as a whole, according to a report on podcast ad revenue released by the IAB and PricewaterhouseCoopers on Monday.

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Cookie Drama In the wake of multiple antitrust lawsuits and a US congressional probe, Google’s attempt to get rid of the third-party cookie is attracting regulatory attention, Digiday reports. On Jan. 8, the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority launched an investigation into whether Chrome’s […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Trump’s Hatred Besides his war on the democratic process, President Trump is also going after apps with ties to China. According to the Wall Street Journal, the lame duck president – just a day before he incited a massive protest in which crowds stormed […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. New Year, Same Controversies Tell me if you’ve heard this one before: Political ads on Facebook contain misinformation. Well, it’s zero hour before the Jan. 5 Georgia runoff election for control of the Senate, and Republican ads on Facebook related to the race reportedly […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. A Wondery To Behold Amazon is in talks to buy podcast production network Wondery, reports The Wall Street Journal, at a value of more than $300 million. According to WSJ sources, Wondery predicts its revenue will exceed $40 million in 2020, with 75% of […]

Spotify is acquiring podcast monetization and publishing platform Megaphone from its parent company, Graham Holdings, in a deal reportedly worth $235 million. The acquisition, announced Tuesday, underscores the streaming audio platform’s ongoing big bet on programmatic and is only the latest in a series of moves Spotify has made to support its growing podcast platform. […]

The podcast industry has been on a crazy ride for the past month and a half. As people spend more time at home, listeners are still gravitating toward their favorite programs, but they’re engaging at different times of day and through home devices such as smart speakers. In the initial days of the pandemic, podcast […]

Does this sound familiar? A publisher ad network invests in technology to support more automated, data-driven advertising. Over time, platform revenue supersedes traditional ad sales. Eventually the business pivots hard to tech. It’s a story that played out numerous times in digital advertising over the years, at companies like AOL, Collective and Conversant. Now the […]