Audio is ‘on sale’ — but not for the reasons you think

“Audio is probably the most ‘on sale’ part of the open internet,” The Trade Desk CEO Jeff Green recently told Adweek. It’s a sharp observation — not just about bargain CPMs but about the incredible value of a high-performing channel that remains consistently undervalued by advertisers.

Despite accounting for 25% of time spent with media, audio receives just 8% of ad investment, according to WARC. And after years of biddable audio inventory being available, marketers are starting to pay attention.

Consumer time spent vs. programmatic audio consideration

Walk into any room and ask if people listen to streaming audio or podcasts — on their phones, in their cars or on their connected devices. Nearly every hand will go up. Then, ask when they’re listening. You’ll hear it all: at the gym, commuting, cooking, working, relaxing, cleaning, walking, running, shopping. The truth is that people listen to audio over four hours a day, on average.

This is why a study conducted by SiriusXM Media, Edison Research and Publicis Media defines audio’s “prime time” as 8 AM to 5 PM — right when online and in-store shopping peaks. We’re happy to give the “prime time” label to Deion Sanders and connected TV (CTV). But the study shows that audio’s prime time, although less flashy, is during the day when consumers are actively out in the world making decisions on what to buy, what to eat, what car looks sweet on the road, where they may want to go on vacation — the list goes on. 

Now, imagine that same room filled with programmatic buyers. Ask them how many are using streaming audio or podcasts in their programmatic media strategy. Only about 30% of hands are likely to go up. So, what’s the problem? 

TV and social are darlings

CTV continues to be the darling of the programmatic industry. We all love TV. But CTV has been the industry’s primary focus for the better part of 10 years. While it has plenty of benefits, it also has drawbacks, including fragmentation, transparency issues and less consumer time spent compared to audio. Despite this, whole programmatic strategies can be built on CTV alone.

TV viewing is a moment in a consumer’s day. Audio can complement that moment — extending the reach of CTV campaigns across devices and connecting with new audiences throughout the day. Results often speak for themselves. Metrics like brand lift and message association can climb when the two are combined. In fact, according to Big Chalk’s 2025 estimates, some advertisers have seen ROI increases of up to 222% when adding audio to their media mix.

Social media, too, still commands large budgets and a ton of advertising and media attention. According to eMarketer, social accounts for 17.9% of consumer time spent, but 28.7% of total media spend. Think about that time spent: Are consumers happy when they’re scrolling through feeds? Are they paying attention to ads?

Personally, social scrolling doesn’t make me feel connected to a brand — or good about myself. But listening to music or a favorite podcast, on the other hand, can inspire us, educate us and make us laugh, learn, reflect and feel good. Audio, like TV, is a conscious, purposeful and personal choice. It pairs powerfully with social: While short-form content can help predict intent, formats like podcasting can build emotional connection, not just attention, but lasting brand loyalty.

So why is audio “on sale”?

• It’s scalable. Audio reaches hundreds of millions of listeners across music, talk and podcasts. It allows marketers to reinforce CTV messages and reach new consumers. 

• It’s premium. The three largest audio publishers rank in the top 50 of The Trade Desk’s Sellers and Publishers 500+.

• It’s rich in signal and identity. Unified ID 2.0 (UID2) is available in connection with audio, and content signals are plentiful unlike other formats that can face data limitations. 

• It can complement other media. Streaming audio and podcasts can help you add incremental reach and performance across a wide range of KPI outcomes. 

Audio lets brands show up during the best moments of someone’s day — when visual formats may not be available and when consumers may be in a buying and consideration mindset. It can reach people where they are and when they are most receptive, in a way that few formats can.

It’s time our strategies caught up. Just add audio!

This op-ed represents the views and opinions of the author and not of The Current, a division of The Trade Desk, or The Trade Desk. The appearance of the op-ed on The Current does not constitute an endorsement by The Current or The Trade Desk.