IAS launches episode-level podcast controls on Spotify

Integral Ad Science has launched an episode-level pre-bid optimisation tool for programmatic podcast audio and video on Spotify through The Trade Desk, extending its partnership with Spotify.

The product allows advertisers using IAS Context Control to apply contextual controls to podcast episodes before bidding in programmatic campaigns. It is being introduced for campaigns run through the Spotify Ad Exchange and activated within The Trade Desk.

That gives buyers a way to screen podcast inventory at the individual episode level rather than relying on broader classifications at show or app level. The approach is intended to help advertisers align podcast placements more closely with their brand suitability requirements.

The launch comes as podcast advertising continues to grow. IAS cited IAB figures showing that US podcast ad revenue rose 17.6% year on year in 2025 to a record USD $2.9 billion.

How it works

Under the new arrangement, advertisers can use pre-bid segments tied to contextual avoidance categories for podcast content on Spotify. Buyers can choose from 33 avoidance segments across 11 industry-aligned categories, with high, medium and low risk settings.

The segments are designed to be applied directly in private marketplace campaigns on the Spotify Ad Exchange through The Trade Desk. In practice, media buyers can decide which types of podcast content to avoid before purchasing an impression.

Episode-level analysis has become more important in audio because a single podcast series can cover a wide range of topics from one instalment to the next. For advertisers, broad show-level labelling can mean either excluding too much inventory or buying against content they would rather avoid.

Lisa Utzschneider, Chief Executive Officer at IAS, described the shift in podcast buying this way:

"Programmatic audio has always allowed brands to reach a large and growing audience, and now, with this launch, it also allows for greater control," said Lisa Utzschneider, Chief Executive Officer at IAS.

She added that the company sees the tool as a way to align podcast spending with advertisers' internal standards.

"By launching episode-level pre-bid optimisation for programmatic audio for Spotify, via The Trade Desk, we are enhancing brands' ability to confidently drive their podcast ad spend, aligned to their own brand suitability profiles," Utzschneider said.

Partnership expansion

The product builds on an existing relationship between IAS and Spotify. The companies had previously worked together on brand safety and suitability tools for the Spotify Audience Network. This latest step shifts the focus to pre-bid decision-making in podcast transactions.

For IAS, the launch adds to its push to extend measurement and suitability tools beyond display and video into audio. The company has positioned itself around media quality controls across social media, connected television, audio and the open web.

Spotify has also been increasing the amount of podcast inventory available through programmatic channels. Tighter controls around content adjacency may make that inventory easier to buy for large advertisers already using suitability settings across other digital formats.

Market significance

The arrangement reflects a broader shift in digital advertising, with marketers seeking the same level of control in newer channels that they already expect elsewhere. In podcasting, that has often been harder to achieve because content is long-form, episodic and less standardised than web pages or short-form video.

By allowing controls to be set before bidding, advertisers can avoid paying for impressions that fall outside their preferred thresholds. That can matter in private marketplace buying, where brands often want both access to premium inventory and tighter oversight of where messages appear.

The Trade Desk's role is also notable because it places the product within an established demand-side workflow rather than requiring a separate activation process. That could reduce friction for agencies and brands already using the platform for programmatic media buying.

IAS said the podcast segments for Spotify are initially available through The Trade Desk, with other major demand-side platforms to follow later. For now, the launch gives advertisers buying Spotify podcast inventory a new way to apply brand suitability controls at episode level before committing spend.