Programmatic buying still accounts for only about one-third of U.S. digital audio advertising—versus roughly 90% of digital ads overall—even as marketers pour more money into podcasts, streaming and, increasingly, over-the-air radio.
U.S. digital audio revenue reached about $8.4 billion in 2025, up 10.2%, according to IAB/PwC.
Podcast ads grew faster, to about $2.9 billion, up 17.6%. Audio’s share of internet ad spending stayed near 2.8%. Industry estimates put programmatic digital audio at roughly $2.3 billion to $2.6 billion in 2026. By one 2026 count, 82% of marketers and agencies now buy some programmatic audio, up from 65% a year earlier.
The newest shift is broadcast radio entering the same pipes as streaming and podcasts. On Monday, Triton Digital and RCS said they are linking Triton’s ad platform to RCS’s Zetta playout software so stations can sell selected over-the-air spots programmatically without extra insertion hardware. Triton is starting with programmatic-guaranteed deals, not open auctions. Amazon DSP is separately working with iHeartMedia and aims to bring broader U.S. commercial radio and Sirius inventory into its omnichannel mix in 2027.
AI is entering buying, targeting and creative. Agencies such as Butler/Till are testing agentic buying on iHeart streaming and podcast inventory. Platforms are also generating scripts and voice tracks for smaller advertisers. Local performance ads are the next contested budget, as identity and attribution tools try to fix podcasting’s weak listener IDs.
The limits remain: thin supply on the open market, video podcasts counted as video rather than audio, incomplete measurement in marketing-mix models, and stations’ reluctance to dump premium spots into cheap auctions.
The 2026–27 race is less about inventing programmatic audio than putting radio and podcasts where digital buyers already spend.