About this episode

John Rosso discusses iHeartMedia's acquisition of Triton Digital and its implications for the audio advertising landscape.

iHeartMedia quietly acquired the most important infrastructure company in audio and almost nobody in adtech noticed. John Rosso, CEO of Triton Digital and President of iHeartMedia's Technology Solutions Group, joins Pesach Lattin to break down the $230 million acquisition, why broadcast radio just shipped an identity solution connected TV has spent six years failing to build, and which audio inventory tiers are mispriced going into 2026. This is the season eight finale of the ADOTAT Show. Season nine returns Monday, June 1, 2026. WHAT WE COVER The plumbing thesis and why infrastructure matters more than content. The Andomedia origin story and how classical music became the first server-side audio ad. What $230 million actually bought when iHeart acquired Triton in 2021. Wiring 800 broadcast radio stations into roughly 50 DSPs through Jelli and the Triton ad platform. Why streaming audio inventory is scarce and rates are getting bid up. The audio versus video CPM myth, and where premium podcasting already beats programmatic video. What a podcast even is anymore when YouTube is the largest distribution platform. The AI-generated podcast problem, the forthcoming IAB labeling…

People in this episode

Host: Pesach Lattin

Guest: John Rosso

Topics covered

• audio infrastructure
• advertising technology
• streaming audio
• podcasting
• media acquisition
• broadcast radio

Keywords

• iHeartMedia
• Triton Digital
• audio advertising
• streaming inventory
• podcast distribution
• CPM rates
• identity solution
• adtech

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: iHeartMedia, Triton Digital, Andomedia, ABC Radio, Citadel Media, Cumulus

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