Broadcast radio enters programmatic buying as Viant integrates iHeartMedia inventory

Broadcast radio advertising is becoming available through programmatic buying platforms, following a new integration between Viant and iHeartMedia that brings over-the-air radio inventory into a demand-side platform (DSP) for the first time.

Under the agreement, Viant’s DSP now provides direct access to iHeartMedia’s broadcast radio inventory, alongside its existing access to iHeart’s podcast and streaming audio offerings via Triton Digital. The move expands the range of audio inventory that advertisers can purchase programmatically and places broadcast radio within the same buying and measurement workflows used for digital channels.

The integration also allows Viant and iHeartMedia to align their respective data graphs to create shared audience identifiers. This is intended to address one of broadcast radio’s longstanding limitations: the lack of user-level signals for targeting and measurement. By linking digital audio listener data with probabilistic modeling, the companies aim to enable audience-based targeting across broadcast radio, podcasts, and streaming audio within a single campaign.

Programmatic access to broadcast radio comes as advertisers continue to consolidate media buying across channels. Audio consumption accounts for more than one-fifth of total media time in the U.S., according to industry estimates, but attracts a comparatively small share of advertising budgets. Programmatic buying has captured a growing portion of digital audio spend in recent years, and the addition of broadcast radio is positioned as a way to extend that model to a larger segment of the audio market.

Triton Digital, which operates the underlying supply-side infrastructure, connected iHeartMedia’s more than 800 radio stations to its SSP using technology from Jelli, the programmatic broadcast radio platform acquired by iHeartMedia in 2018. Triton also developed what it describes as an “identity spine” for radio, using contextual signals and third-party data to infer audience segments that align with addressable digital audio listeners.

The shared identifiers are designed to support both targeting and measurement. Advertisers buying broadcast radio through Viant can receive reporting that includes timing and station-level delivery, enabling more granular attribution and cross-channel analysis alongside digital audio, connected TV, and other media.

The partnership reflects a broader trend toward supply-path optimization, with DSPs forming closer, direct relationships with large publishers to simplify buying paths, improve data quality, and reduce reliance on intermediaries. Viant began expanding these direct integrations in 2023, and its collaboration with iHeartMedia builds on several years of prior audience-matching work between the companies.

Looking ahead, Triton Digital indicated that similar integrations could be extended to other broadcast radio groups that already use its platform for digital audio, potentially broadening programmatic access to radio inventory beyond iHeartMedia as early as next year.