Context Control segments offer advertisers enhanced precision for programmatic podcast audio and video, launching first via The Trade Desk and the Spotify Ad Exchange.

NEW YORK – June 16, 2026 – Integral Ad Science (IAS), a leading global platform that connects AI-powered media quality to real business outcomes, today announced a new episode-level pre-bid optimization solution for programmatic podcast audio and video as part of its strategic partnership with Spotify. Starting this month, leveraging IAS Context Control, advertisers can seamlessly apply episode-level contextual controls in The Trade Desk before a bid is placed, enhancing brand suitability, protecting brands and bolstering media quality performance across podcast impressions on the platform.

IAS delivers AI-powered media quality measurement and optimization wherever advertisers invest, providing the clarity and control needed to boost business outcomes across social, CTV, audio, and the open web. This solution empowers marketers to buy podcast inventory through the Spotify Ad Exchange at scale with the confidence and precision they expect from digital display and video. It arrives as podcast advertising continues its powerful momentum, with IAB data revealing that in the U.S. alone, podcast ad revenue surged 17.6% year-over-year in 2025 to reach a record $2.9 billion.

“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, CEO, IAS. “By launching episode-level pre-bid optimization 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.”

Context Control pre-bid optimization segments for podcasts on Spotify offer:

• Confidence to scale. Allows advertisers to apply the same brand suitability standards from across digital campaigns to Spotify podcast inventory, before the bid.
• Episode-level precision. Contextual classification is applied at the individual episode level, not just at the show or app level, supporting greater accuracy and helping advertisers identify additional suitable inventory opportunities. 
• Industry-standard alignment. Advertisers can choose from 33 contextual avoidance segments across 11 industry-aligned categories at three risk levels (high, medium, and low).
• Seamless activation. IAS Context Control Pre-bid segments are available to apply to Spotify Ad Exchange PMP campaigns directly within The Trade Desk.

This partnership expands Integral Ad Science’s partnership with Spotify, having previously announced its AI-driven brand safety and suitability solutions for the Spotify Audience Network in May 2025. 

IAS Context Control segments for Spotify podcasts will be available via The Trade Desk starting today, and rolling out to other major DSP platforms in the coming months.

About Integral Ad Science

Integral Ad Science (IAS) is a leading global platform that connects AI-powered media quality to real business outcomes – from brand perception to sales lift. We empower brands, agencies, and publishers to drive transparency, reduce waste, and unlock growth across the open web, social, CTV, and audio. By transforming massive data scale into actionable intelligence, IAS helps marketers optimize global campaigns in real-time to maximize the return on every media dollar invested. Learn more at integralads.com.