Spotify Audience Network

One of the largest programmatic podcast advertising networks, leveraging Spotify's first-party data and massive audio content catalog

The Spotify Audience Network (SPAN) is a programmatic podcast ad marketplace launched in April 2021 that connects advertisers with podcast listeners across a vast inventory of content. SPAN allows brands to run audio ads across Spotify's own podcast catalog as well as third-party podcasts hosted on platforms like Megaphone and Anchor, giving advertisers access to a broad and diverse audience through a single buying interface. The network leverages Spotify's first-party listener data to enable precise audience targeting based on demographics, interests, and listening behavior. SPAN operates as a self-serve and managed buying platform, supporting programmatic direct and open marketplace transactions. Advertisers can use Spotify Ad Studio to create and deploy campaigns across the network, with targeting capabilities that extend beyond Spotify-owned content to include independently hosted shows that have opted into the network. This positions SPAN as one of the largest podcast advertising ecosystems available to programmatic buyers. In the broader AdTech and podcast advertising landscape, SPAN is a significant player given Spotify's dominant position in audio streaming and podcast consumption globally. It competes with other podcast ad networks and programmatic audio platforms, offering unique advantages through Spotify's scale, proprietary audience data, and cross-platform reach. SPAN represents Spotify's strategic push to monetize the podcast ecosystem and attract advertising budgets shifting toward digital audio.