Ad decisioning is how Flightcast chooses which eligible ads to insert into an episode's available slots. The result depends on the campaign, the listener request, the slot and the delivery destination.
Eligibility comes first
A campaign must be active, within its scheduled dates and eligible under its observed goal and pacing state. Its podcast selection, episode exclusions and geographic rules must also match the request.
Ad-level targeting can narrow where a creative is used; it does not override a campaign restriction that has already made the campaign ineligible. Geographic matching depends on available location signals and destination support. New or changed postal-code rules require a country and at least one postal code.
Basic episode exclusions are supported. Advanced episode inclusion lists, title rules, listener frequency caps and fixed placement controls require the relevant account capabilities. A slot's maximum ad count is not a listener frequency cap.
Priority and pacing guide selection
In standard delivery, higher-priority campaigns are considered first. Within the same priority tier, Flightcast uses pacing-weighted random selection. Behind-pace campaigns receive more weight, but are not guaranteed the next slot. Campaigns ahead of pace may be temporarily ineligible.
A time-based pace score requires a positive goal and valid dates. Once observed delivery reaches the goal, the campaign is no longer selected. Cached counts and reporting delays mean that the goal is not an exact real-time stop limit.
Slots determine what can be inserted
A slot defines pre-roll, mid-roll or post-roll placement, capacity and allowed sources. In the standard setup that permits both sources, eligible dynamic campaign ads fill first and programmatic VAST ads may fill remaining capacity.
Advanced position rules and destination-specific routing can change that behavior. If no eligible creative or provider ad is available, an opportunity can remain unfilled.
A configured custom VAST provider can supply programmatic ads for the podcast's roll types. Selecting a provider does not guarantee fill, and provider-paid earnings remain separate from Flightcast payouts.
Read delivery and revenue separately
Ads reporting uses qualified delivered-ad events. Monetize uses ad-start events for programmatic estimates, so the totals need not match. Tracking requests, pixels and callbacks do not prove that a person listened to an entire ad.
Measurement applies qualification and deduplication rules, including rolling listener-episode windows and full-short-episode handling. A counted listener identity is not a verified person across all devices. Flightcast is not formally IAB-certified. See the public measurement methodology for its counting rules and limitations.
When an ad is missing
Check status, dates, observed goal, pacing, targeting, creative readiness and slot permissions. Also check competing higher-priority campaigns and whether the programmatic provider returned an ad. Review enabled advanced rules if the basic settings appear correct.