IAB Tech Lab updates podcast measurement to include video distribution

The immediate impact is a narrowed measurement gap between traditional audio-only downloads and emerging video-centric consumption. As YouTube becomes a primary podcasting destination—surpassing Spotify in viewing hours on TV screens—advertisers require unified metrics to justify cross-platform spend. By aligning server-side log data standards, the IAB Tech Lab provides the technical infrastructure needed for programmatic buying to scale. This move addresses long-standing buyer skepticism regarding data consistency across fragmented delivery methods. Watch for the 2027 release of v3.0, which is expected to focus specifically on HLS streaming video podcasts.

The push for standardized measurement coincides with significant shifts in how audiences consume long-form digital content. Per a July 2026 WARC Media report, YouTube has overtaken Spotify as the top platform for podcast viewing, with users watching 700 million hours of podcasts monthly via connected TV (CTV) screens alone. This 70% year-on-year increase in CTV usage demonstrates that 'podcasting' is increasingly becoming a lean-back, visual experience rather than a mobile-first audio background. Despite this engagement, WARC notes that YouTube's ad-revenue growth slowed to 11.7% in 2025, down from 14.7% in 2024, as performance-based budgets face rising competition from TikTok and Netflix's ad tier.

Financial data from the IAB and PwC confirms the sector's scale but also its relative maturity. Per the 2025 IAB/PwC Internet Advertising Revenue Report released in April 2026, U.S. podcast ad revenue reached $2.9 billion in 2025, growing 17.6% annually. While this outpaced the broader digital audio category's 10.2% growth, podcasting still only accounts for roughly 2.8% of total digital ad spend. Global figures from the Podcast Index and others suggest a market valuation of $39.63 billion by 2026, driven by a compound annual growth rate of 27% through 2030.

Technical compliance remains a priority for major sales networks such as iHeart and Audioboom, which continue to dominate the rankings. According to Triton Digital’s March 2026 ranker, iHeart Audience Network maintained the lead with 71.5 million average weekly downloads. The integration of survey-based demographics from groups like Signal Hill Insights with census-level server data is becoming the new baseline for these publishers. This hybrid approach aims to solve the attribution challenges that have historically favored lower-funnel channels over the awareness-driven podcasting format.