iHeartMedia targets $200M in programmatic revenue as radio profits plunge

The integration of broadcast inventory into major DSPs marks a critical shift in how traditional audio is bought and sold, moving AM/FM from manual negotiation to automated digital workflows. By making over-the-air spots accessible alongside streaming and display, iHeartMedia aims to capture budgets from advertisers who now prioritize the convenience of digital buying platforms. However, this transition risks price compression if automated abundance replaces the historical scarcity of broadcast spots. This move aligns with a broader industry trend where Amazon and SiriusXM are consolidating audio supply to simplify planning for media buyers. Watch for whether the $200 million programmatic target actually lifts broadcast margins or merely shifts existing digital revenue into new pipes.

iHeartMedia's push to integrate broadcast inventory into major demand-side platforms places it at the center of a rapid consolidation in programmatic audio buying. In November 2025, Amazon Ads and iHeartMedia announced an expanded partnership bringing iHeart's streaming audio portfolio into Amazon DSP, with access to iHeartPodcasts and broadcast radio stations following in 2026. The deal gives Amazon DSP advertisers access to iHeart's streaming music and live streaming radio across smartphones, smart speakers, tablets, and gaming consoles, powered by Amazon's trillions of first-party shopping and browsing signals. Lisa Coffey, iHeartMedia's Chief Business Officer, described the integration as a step toward making broadcast radio behave like digital media: addressable, measurable, and available programmatically. The competitive landscape for programmatic broadcast is intensifying as multiple DSPs race to secure direct access to iHeartMedia's 278 million monthly ad-supported listeners. In November 2025, StackAdapt announced a direct integration with iHeartMedia that brings AM/FM broadcast radio inventory onto its platform, allowing advertisers to plan, forecast, buy, and report on broadcast alongside CTV, DOOH, and display in a single interface. The integration also targets political advertisers seeking regulated broadcast environments during the 2026 election cycle. Then in December 2025, Viant struck a deal with iHeartMedia and Triton Digital to make broadcast radio inventory available through Viant's DSP, with both companies matching their data graphs to create shared IDs for targeting audiences in environments where audience identification signals are scarce. Triton Digital president and CEO John Rosso confirmed that programmatic guaranteed deals for iHeart's broadcast inventory now carry the same priority as direct-sold deals. The technical infrastructure enabling this shift traces back to iHeartMedia's 2018 acquisition of programmatic broadcast platform Jelli, which provided the technology layer to connect more than 800 broadcast radio stations to Triton Digital's SSP. Variety reported that under the Amazon DSP deal, advertisers gained immediate access to iHeartMedia's streaming music and livestreaming radio channels, with broadcast and podcast inventory to follow. The $200 million programmatic revenue target iHeartMedia has set for 2026 now rests on whether these multiple DSP integrations can collectively shift advertiser behavior from manual upfront negotiations to automated buying, without triggering the CPM compression that typically accompanies programmatic abundance in other channels.