iHeartMedia & Magnite Unify Broadcast and Digital Audio

Magnite (NASDAQ: MGNI), the largest independent sell-side advertising company, and iHeartMedia, the number one audio company in the United States, today announced the launch of a first-of-its-kind marketplace that brings together iHeartMedia’s broadcast radio, streaming radio and podcast assets for inclusion in omnichannel programmatic media buys, providing the reach and efficiency that advertisers are seeking from audio.  

Built from a custom implementation of Magnite’s SpringServe ad serving technology, the marketplace enables advertisers to transact with a data-driven approach via real-time-bidding across iHeartMedia’s vast broadcast and digital audio inventory through a single activation channel. 

iHeartMedia reaches 90 percent of all US adults monthly with its broadcast stations alone and its streaming radio and podcasts reach 57 million consumers with high-quality ad-enabled content, the largest reach of any digital audio company. Its leadership position in audio extends across multiple platforms including more than 860 live local broadcast stations, its iHeartRadio digital service available across more than 250 platforms and 2,000 devices including smart speakers, smartphones, TVs and gaming consoles, and podcasts as the #1 podcast publi<a href="sher in the world according to Podtrac. 

“With today’s consumers spending a third of their media time with audio, expanding programmatic’s access to iHeart’s audio assets is imperative for the industry,” said Brian Kaminsky, Chief Data Officer and President of Revenue Strategies for iHeartMedia. “Not only are we expanding what role programmatic can play for advertisers, we are also improving the efficacy of their campaigns by allowing them to use real-time data to message their audience in the most engaging way possible, in an environment of trust and interest. We’re excited to expand our partnership with Magnite because they have proven expertise in programmatic and the ability to build technology fit for the unique needs of audio advertising to take its place in omnichannel.” 

“Establishing more direct connections within the advertising supply chain benefits both publi<a href="shers and buyers and we’re proud to build technology to facilitate this for the largest media owners in the world like iHeartMedia,” said Sean Buckley, Chief Revenue Officer at Magnite. “We’ve worked closely with iHeartMedia to develop bespoke and new-to-market solutions for podcast and audio. Consolidated paths will continue to gain momentum and we look forward to continuing to pave the way in this effort.” 

“The premium audio marketplace created by iHeart provides PMX clients with direct programmatic access to scaled, high-quality audio inventory,” said Jay Askinasi, CEO, PMX US and Chief Growth Officer, Publicis Groupe. “As we expand our PMX Lift solution to connect across platforms, including audio, it will be important to have this combination of broadcast and digital assets and data to achieve better efficiency, control and analytics and drive greater value and insights for our clients.”