Flightcast

Flightcast Pixel Tracking

Pixel Tracking URL Macros

This document describes the available macros for pixel tracking URLs in the Flightcast podcast hosting platform.

Overview

Pixel tracking URLs are hit with HTTP GET requests when a user downloads/streams the part of a file containing an ad.

These pixels are not placed anywhere else.

They are only hit by our backend after the trigger during the stream of the mp3 file.

We support all standard podcast hosting company pixels (Podscribe, Magellan, etc).

As well as DCM/website tracking pixels (1x1 image files).

Please ensure that you are using precisely one of these two, and that no additional fields are required, as this document details the maximum supported macros from Flightcast.

When the pixel url is hit, Flightcast supports dynamic macro replacement at request time.

All support macros are listed below.

Please remove any macros we do not support from your Pixel URL before submitting to Flightcast.

This includes any GDPR_CONSENT_STRING replacements or otherwise - as these are not currently supported.

Standard Format: `{variable}`

Macro	Replacement	Description
`{episodeId}`	Episode GUID	Unique identifier for the episode
`{podcastId}`	Podcast ID	Unique identifier for the podcast
`{ip}`	IP address	Raw IP address of the listener
`{hash}`	User hash	Unique IAB-compliant identifier for the listener
`{timestamp}`	ISO timestamp	Request time in ISO format (e.g., `2026-01-27T15:30:00.000Z`)
`{random}`	ULID	Random ULID for cache-busting/deduplication
`{epoch}`	Unix timestamp	Unix timestamp in seconds
`{userAgent}`	User agent	URL-encoded user agent string
`{ua}`	User agent	URL-encoded user agent string (alias for `{userAgent}`)

Examples

Basic tracking pixel

https://tracker.com/pixel?ep={episodeId}&ip={ip}&cb={random}

Full attribution tracking

https://attribution.example.com/pixel?podcast={podcastId}&episode={episodeId}&ip={ip}&hash={hash}&ts={epoch}&ua={userAgent}&cb={random}

Technical Notes

HTTP Method: Pixel tracking uses GET requests (industry standard for services like Magellan, Chartable, Podtrac, etc.)
URL Encoding: Macros are automatically URL-encoded
Validation: Invalid URLs after macro replacement are filtered out and logged
Headers: Requests include User-Agent, X-Forwarded-For, and X-Device-Ip headers with listener information