Dr. Tamara Zubatiy of Barometer on Podcast Movement 2026, Programmatic Ad Growth, Brand Suitability, and Video Expansion
In this episode of PodBiz, host Norma Jean Belenky sits down with Dr. Tamara Zubatiy, Co-Founder and CEO of Barometer. Together, they explore where advertising dollars are moving in podcasting, how programmatic ad buying is opening doors for creators of all sizes, the crucial distinction between brand safety and brand suitability, and major takeaways from Podcast Movement and Podcast Week in New York City.
Where is the money in podcasting right now?
“For us right now, the big trend that we’re seeing is programmatic. Podcast ad investment is the fastest-growing programmatic channel. According to The Trade Desk’s earnings call data across four consecutive quarters, it has been growing at double-digit rates, exceeding the growth rates of channels like CTV. We’re seeing brands lean in that have never engaged with the podcasting channel at this scale before.”
How does programmatic buying benefit both large brands and smaller creators?
“When chasing an audience, you can’t predict where they will pop up or assume they only listen to one specific show. Programmatic allows advertisers to buy specific audience segments across the ecosystem.
For creators, agency representation often requires a minimum of 50,000 monthly downloads, which excludes many niche shows. Programmatic buying operates on an audience basis, allowing smaller creators with dedicated, niche audiences to monetize even if they don't meet massive agency thresholds.”
How did your academic background in AI lead to founding Barometer?
“I started my PhD at Georgia Tech in human-centered AI in 2019. My co-founder—who is also my husband—and I were analyzing print and digital news using our own custom natural language processing (NLP) algorithms. We realized advertising is the industry funding the ideas and beliefs people hold through content exposure.
Our core motivation was to ensure podcasting never faced censorship. We recognized podcasting as a medium built on trust and intentional listening, standing in stark contrast to algorithmically forced short-form social feed slop.”
What is the difference between brand safety and brand suitability?
“There is often a flattening of definitions between the two in the marketplace. Brand safety is a binary property of content—it answers whether content should be monetized at all, covering extreme or illegal categories like terrorist recruitment videos.
Brand suitability is far more context-dependent. Keyword blocklists can end up defunding quality journalism—such as blocking ads on NPR for simply discussing terrorism. Barometer uses context-aware NLP models, continuous reinforcement learning, and manual human reviews on around 10% of processed media to ensure brands stay protected without unnecessarily defunding premium creators.”
What were your main takeaways from Podcast Week in New York?
“The industry is maturing rapidly, with a heavy emphasis on measurement standards and video integration. Debates surrounding downloads versus impressions and frameworks like the AMP Accords highlight the push for standardized, trustworthy metrics that build buyer confidence.
On the video front, video is no longer optional—it is thriving. Over the last 18 months, podcasting has shifted from an ancillary format to the foundational anchor of a creator’s entire content strategy across YouTube, Spotify, social clips, and RSS feeds.”
Can you share a real-world example of Barometer helping a brand scale its ad spend?
“We worked with a major telecom brand that wanted to expand its direct podcast buys programmatically. By deploying our suitability controls within The Trade Desk, they expanded from four publishing partners to nine. Unifying their measurement and applying frequency capping across their central dashboard resulted in a 30% reduction in CPA.
In another campaign, an auto brand running programmatic podcast ads alongside CTV and streaming audio achieved an 87% incremental reach by safely targeting specific interest niches like Roman history podcasts.”
What is next for Barometer and the future of audio advertising?
“Our core value across our product and company structure is radical transparency. Barometer currently processes approximately 50 years of media content every week before it goes live.
Looking ahead, we are rolling out our video product in beta in Q4, which was driven directly by requests from our creator and buyer community. We remain extremely bullish on podcasting as creator-led emerging media becomes the dominant discovery channel for global brands.”
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A thank you to our media partners:
Podnews - Daily news for the podcast and on-demand audio industry. www.podnews.net
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