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Brief
Megaphone was acquired by Spotify Technology (Jan 2020)— See the full lineage →
Megaphone

Megaphone

Podcast Advertising & Publishing Technologymegaphone.fm

Megaphone is a podcast ad tech company that provides hosting, distribution, and ad-insertion tools for podcast publishers, while also enabling advertisers to find and reach audiences across those publishers' content.

Last updated Oct 5, 2026 by the ATDb Editorial Team · Connections updated Oct 8, 2026

Founded
2015
HQ
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Connections
23

AI-drafted from public sources18 sources cited

At a glance

Employees
51-200
Funding
Acquired for ~$235M by Spotify in 2020
Revenue
$10M-$50M
Stock
N/A
16integrations3competitors1corporate family1acquisitions

About

Leading enterprise podcast hosting and monetization platform with strong presence among major media publishers and podcast networks

Megaphone is a podcast ad tech company that provides hosting, distribution, and ad-insertion tools for podcast publishers, while also enabling advertisers to find and reach audiences across those publishers' content. Spotify acquired Megaphone in a $235 million deal. Six years after that acquisition, the product was fully absorbed into the Spotify Ad Server. Megaphone's core advertising value lies in precision ad targeting down to demographics and zip code, powered by Nielsen and Spotify's classification. Following the transition into the Spotify Ad Server, Spotify's first-party data became the primary source for audience targeting, with Nielsen retained only as a secondary option where Spotify data is not addressable for a given impression. A key capability made available through Megaphone's technology was Spotify's Streaming Ad Insertion tool, which the company described as making ads targetable, measurable, and interactive. Source 1: cnbc.com — Spotify to buy podcast ad company Megaphone for $235 ... Source 2: adexchanger.com — Spotify Fully Absorbs Megaphone; Buyers Don't Trust CTV ... Source 3: springcast.io — Springcast vs Megaphone · honest comparison (2026)

Business model

SaaS

Target market

Enterprise

What they offer

  • Podcast Hosting & Distribution

    Enterprise-grade podcast hosting with global CDN distribution and reliable RSS feed management for large-scale publishers

  • Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI)

    Technology that dynamically serves targeted ads into podcast episodes, enabling flexible monetization and campaign management

  • Megaphone Targeted Marketplace

    Programmatic advertising marketplace connecting podcast publishers with advertisers for audience-targeted audio ad campaigns

  • Analytics & Reporting

    Advanced listener analytics, download tracking, audience demographics, and campaign performance reporting

  • Audience Targeting

    First- and third-party data-driven targeting capabilities to help advertisers reach specific listener segments

  • Campaign Management

    Tools for managing direct-sold and programmatic ad campaigns across podcast inventory

Key features

Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI)Programmatic advertising marketplaceEnterprise podcast hosting and CDNAdvanced audience analytics and attributionFirst-party audience data targetingIAB-compliant download measurementDirect and programmatic ad sales supportMulti-show and network management

Use cases

Enterprise podcast hosting for major media companiesDynamic ad insertion for monetizing back-catalog and new episodesProgrammatic podcast advertising for brand campaignsAudience targeting and segmentation for podcast advertisersNetwork-level podcast management for multi-show publishersCampaign trafficking and ad operations for podcast networks

Customer segments

Major media companies and news organizationsLarge podcast networksEntertainment and sports content publishersIndependent enterprise-level podcast creatorsPodcast advertisers and agencies

Tech & specs

Technology stack

Cloud-based infrastructure (AWS)Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI) technologyProgrammatic advertising (RTB/OpenRTB)RSS feed managementCDN for audio deliveryData analytics and reporting pipelines

Security & compliance

IAB Podcast Measurement GuidelinesGDPRCCPA

Deployment

Cloud

API

Yes

Corporate history
  1. 2015 · Founded
  2. 2020Acquired by Spotify Technology
    Still operating as part of Spotify Technology
See alternatives to Megaphone See integrations with Megaphone (16)

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