How mid-roll works
The content carries cue points: timestamps where a break may occur. In live streams these are signalled in the feed as it runs. When playback reaches a cue point, the program pauses, one or more ads play in sequence, and the program resumes from the same point.
A group of ads played back to back in one break is called an ad pod.
Why mid-rolls earn the most
By the time a mid-roll appears the viewer is invested in the program and far more likely to sit through the break than to leave. Completion rates are high, so advertisers pay more, and a long title can carry several breaks where a pre-roll offers only one opportunity.
Placing the breaks
- Put breaks at natural pauses: scene changes, act breaks, between rounds or halves
- Never cut mid-sentence or mid-action; automated placement at fixed intervals does this
- Leave the first several minutes clear so the viewer settles in
- Space breaks evenly, for example every 8 to 12 minutes in long-form
- Keep breaks short on streaming: 30 to 90 seconds, not the several minutes of broadcast
- Show a countdown so viewers know when the program returns
Operational details
Decide what happens when a viewer skips forward past a break: most services play the most recent missed break and no more. Avoid repeating the same ad within a pod or across consecutive breaks, and make sure an unfilled break is skipped silently instead of showing a blank screen.
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