iHeartMedia and Magnite Unify Access to Broadcast and Digital Audio, Providing Advertisers with a Direct Path to Premium Inventory

NEW YORK, Jan. 09, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 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 publisher 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 publishers 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.”

About Magnite 
We’re Magnite (NASDAQ: MGNI), the world’s largest independent sell-side advertising company. Publishers use our technology to monetize their content across all screens and formats including CTV, online video, display, and audio. The world's leading agencies and brands trust our platform to access brand-safe, high-quality ad inventory and execute billions of advertising transactions each month. Anchored in bustling New York City, sunny Los Angeles, mile high Denver, historic London, colorful Singapore, and down under in Sydney, Magnite has offices across North America, EMEA, LATAM, and APAC. 

About iHeartMedia 
iHeartMedia, Inc. [Nasdaq: IHRT] is the leading audio media company in America, reaching over 90% of Americans every month. iHeart’s broadcast radio assets alone have more consumer reach in the U.S. than any other media outlet; twice the reach of the next largest broadcast radio company; and over four times the ad-enabled reach of the largest digital only audio service. iHeart is the largest podcast publisher according to Podtrac, with more downloads than the next two podcast publishers combined and has the number one social footprint among audio players, with seven times more followers than the next audio media brand, and the only fully integrated audio ad tech solution across broadcast, streaming and podcasts. The company continues to leverage its strong audience connection and unparalleled consumer reach to build new platforms, products and services. Visit iHeartMedia.com for more company information. 

Media Contact:

Kar Yi Lim
klim@magnite.com

Investor Contact:

Nick Kormeluk
nkormeluk@magnite.com