Programmatic advertising accounts for over 90% of U.S. digital display ad spending, according to eMarketer, automating the buying and selling of ad inventory through real-time technology. Because of its analog nature, radio has been late to the programmatic shift, although iHeartMedia sees it as one of the company’s biggest long-term opportunities. North of the border, Pattison Media has launched a platform that enables advertisers to buy over the air radio using the same platforms and workflows they use for digital, video, connected TV, and out of home.
Branded as resonate, the system allows advertisers to plan and purchase radio inventory programmatically, based on impressions, in environments where the rest of their media budgets already live.
Pattison Media owns 50 radio stations in Canada’s four western provinces: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
“For years, we’ve watched programmatic buying transform one channel after another — but broadcast radio was left outside that system,” said Andrew Snook, Chief Innovation Officer at Pattison Media. “Resonate changes that. It gives advertisers a way to access the scale and impact of radio using the same tools, metrics, and buying models they already use every day.”
Pattison says the development of resonate was inspired in part by the evolution of out-of-home advertising. During the last several years, OOH experienced renewed growth by shifting from selling based on locations and fixed schedules to offering impressions-based buying, CPM pricing, and programmatic access through major platforms.
“That transition showed the industry something important,” said Snook. “Advertisers don’t want to buy formats or schedules — they want reach, accountability, and efficiency. We saw a clear parallel for radio.”
The company says resonate lets advertisers plan and purchase radio inventory based on impressions and in environments where the rest of their media budgets already live. Pattison says the system uses real time data modelling to estimate audiences as they exist in the moment — capturing fluctuations driven by live events, holidays, breaking news, or major sports broadcasts. While it doesn’t disclose how it models real time audiences, the company says its approach “better reflects the true value of live radio, particularly during high engagement programming.”
It also offers dynamic placement of ads into upcoming commercial logs. The platform also intelligently manages inventory, identifying available capacity and reallocating lower value spots later in the day — helping broadcasters maximize yield while creating space for higher value demand.
Broadcast radio spots can be purchased through platforms such as Google DV360, eliminating manual processes and reducing barriers to entry.
Programmatic advertising has seen significant growth over the past four years — most notably, from a year ago — according to a series of studies conducted by Advertiser Perceptions, as reported in Westwood One’s blog.
“This is about making radio easier to access, not changing what radio is,” said Rod Schween, President of Pattison Media. “Radio already delivers trust, reach, and impact. resonate simply allows it to be bought in a way that matches how advertising actually works today.”
Back in the U.S., iHeartMedia’s programmatic revenue is expected to reach roughly $200 million in 2026, up about 50% from the approximately $135 million the company generated in 2025. The company has already inked partnership agreements with Amazon DSP, Yahoo DSP, Google DV360 and others that will allow broadcast ads to be packaged with digital.