Triton Digital and RCS bring programmatic advertising to traditional radio
Triton Digital and RCS have partnered to let radio broadcasters sell airtime through programmatic, data-driven advertising workflows, opening access to digital ad budgets previously out of reach. The move coincides with a new EBU report showing radio still retains strong trust and reach across Europe.
New partnership in the radio industry
Digital audio advertising company Triton Digital and broadcast software provider RCS have announced a partnership giving traditional radio stations access to the programmatic advertising market. Both companies are owned by media group iHeartMedia.
The deal links RCS's broadcast playout software to Triton's ad-buying platform, meaning over-the-air radio inventory can now be sold through the same automated, data-driven workflows advertisers already use to buy streaming audio and podcast inventory. Because the integration runs on broadcasters' existing RCS infrastructure, stations can begin transacting programmatically without an overhaul of their systems.
Triton Digital President and CEO John Rosso said the partnership "future-proofs" radio's competitive position for advertising dollars that have been flowing to digital media. RCS President and CEO Susan Larkin said the integration gives stations "a direct path to the programmatic advertising market" through software they already use.
The collaboration is being rolled out to broadcast partners, and Triton will demonstrate the technology at the 2026 International Broadcasting Convention (IBC) in Amsterdam. As Radio World reports, the move is part of a broader iHeartMedia push to bring digital-style advertising tools to over-the-air radio: in June the company launched "AudioGraph," offering digital-like targeting and measurement for broadcast radio, and in August it partnered with a media agency on what it called the ad industry's first agentic, AI-driven streaming audio media-buying campaign.
Radio still commands trust
The announcement comes amid a wider conversation about radio's place in a changing media landscape. Wouter Quartier, head of radio at the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), notes in a commentary that radio remains a source of trust and companionship: according to EBU Intelligence's Audio Trends 2026 report, radio reaches 81.3% of European citizens every week, with reach among 16–24-year-olds still at 70.9%, and average daily listening at two hours and 10 minutes. At the same time, young people spend even more time overall with audio content — an average of three hours and 56 minutes a day, including streaming and podcasts. Radio's position remains especially resilient in cars, where reach across 15 European markets has held steady at around 56% over the past five years.
