Podcast Networks in 2026

Detection reads what's in the episode, so it sees the sponsorships a host actually reads. When a network moves its monetization to dynamically inserted ads, its shows go quiet in our data even though ads still run. Three networks show that cliff clearly:

• The Athletic ( 83 sponsors detected all time, last on May 7, 2026)—handed exclusive ad sales to Acast in April 2025 and moved its shows onto Acast's dynamic-insertion platform; embedded host-reads wound down as the deal took full effect.
• Blue Wire ( 87 sponsors all time, none since May 20, 2026)—contracted from 300+ shows to a smaller athlete-led roster and pivoted toward live events and short-form video; network-wide host-read campaigns largely disappeared in the consolidation.

Others simply haven't cleared our bar yet. A network gets its own page the first day we've detected ten or more unique sponsors on its shows in the last year plus at least one in the last 30 days—and once a page launches it stays, even if coverage later fades. audiochuck ( 4 sponsors detected all time) sells Crime Junkie 's ads through an exclusive Fox/Tubi deal, and they're mostly inserted, not host-read. Realm ( 4 sponsors in the last year) is the closest to launching.

Attribution is deliberately conservative—a show only counts toward a network when the evidence is unambiguous—so some majors aren't mapped yet. Who they are and how they sell, verified July 2026:

• Red Seat Ventures—Fox-owned since February 2025; powers Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, and Dr. Phil, with in-house sales and its own hosting platform.
• Team Coco—Conan O'Brien's comedy network, owned by SiriusXM; SXM Media sells all inventory.
• Exactly Right Media—Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark's true-crime network; iHeartMedia has sold and distributed it since February 2025.
• Maximum Fun—worker-owned co-op; runs on memberships, with limited host-approved ads sold direct.
• The Volume—Colin Cowherd's sports network; sells in partnership with the iHeart ecosystem.
• Unwell—Alex Cooper's network; Call Her Daddy's ads sell through SiriusXM, the rest through its own creative agency.
• The Roost—creator-comedy network (Theo Von, H3) owned by Night, MrBeast's management company; in-house sales.
• QCODE—scripted-audio studio, restructured under Daylight Media in 2025; also reps third-party shows like Jon Stewart's.
• Goalhanger—the UK's hit factory (The Rest Is History); in-house sponsorships plus subscriptions.
• Ramsey Network—Dave Ramsey's personal-finance shows; in-house team with strict sponsor vetting.

The big broadcast publishers—The New York Times, Disney/ESPN, Fox Audio, NBCUniversal—also sell in-house, mostly as inserted inventory. As our attribution coverage grows, networks move from this list into the live table above.

A podcast network owns or represents shows: it signs them, produces or distributes them, and sells their sponsorships. A podcast ad network owns no shows—it aggregates ad inventory across many podcasts and sells it to advertisers, usually as dynamically inserted spots. The table on this page is about the first kind; if you're looking for the second, the names that come up in 2026 are Libsyn Ads (formerly AdvertiseCast), the Acast Marketplace, the Spotify Audience Network, Gumball (Headgum's host-read marketplace), Audacy's Creator Lab (formerly Podcorn), and SiriusXM's self-serve AudioGO.

The lines blur from both directions: iHeart, Audioboom, and Acast show up on "ad network" lists because they sell across shows they don't own, and rep agencies like True Native Media sell host-read sponsorships on behalf of shows without owning any inventory. For a podcaster the practical question isn't the label—it's who sells your show's ads and which brands they actually bring. That's what the sponsor rosters on each network page show.

Most podcasts aren't on any network, and the brands in the tables above don't only buy through networks. Whether you're repped or independent, the fastest route to a sponsor is the one already spending: 227,145 brands with detected sponsorships, each showing the shows they back and when they last bought.

Start with the podcast sponsors list, or follow the find-sponsors tutorial to build a pitch list from shows like yours.