IAB Podcast Upfront Moves Back To September.

The IAB Podcast Upfront, the annual showcase of what’s new from producers to the advertising community, is returning to the fall. The show, which began in 2014, has been adjacent to the video-focused IAB NewFronts each May since 2021. But this year’s IAB Podcast Upfront has been scheduled for Sept. 30. That returns it to the spot on the calendar where the event took place in its first six years.

An IAB rep points out that the Podcast Upfront had been in the fall in the past, so IAB is shifting back to September as a way to meet all scheduling needs and preferences of podcast producers and ad buyers. The IAB is leaving the door open to moving back to the spring in the future, however. 

The IAB Podcast Upfront expanded from one day to two days in 2021 when the frenzy of new shows and companies filled out the schedule. It returned to one day in 2023 as fewer companies opted to take part in the event.

The IAB Podcast Upfront has been the setting for the release of the IAB’s annual revenue report on the podcast industry. No new date has been announced, but the trade group says it will release its annual Internet Advertising Revenue Report on April 24.