How it works
When a viewer reaches an ad break, the publisher's ad server or supply-side platform sends a bid request describing the opportunity: the app, the type of content, the device, the country and any audience information the viewer has consented to share. Advertisers' demand-side platforms respond with bids. The winning ad is returned and played.
Types of programmatic deal
- Open auction: any buyer can bid; the widest demand and the lowest prices
- Private marketplace: an auction limited to invited buyers, with a price floor
- Preferred deal: a fixed price offered to one buyer before the auction
- Programmatic guaranteed: a fixed price and a committed volume, a direct deal carried out through programmatic pipes
What a streaming service needs
- A connection to one or more supply-side platforms or ad networks
- Ad break markers and a player or stitching service that can request ads
- An app-ads.txt file listing the companies authorized to sell your inventory
- Accurate signals in each request: app identity, content genre, device type
- Consent handling that meets the privacy law of each market
- Enough viewing volume for buyers to bother with
Programmatic vs direct sales
Direct deals pay more per impression and need a sales effort. Programmatic needs none and fills what direct sales leave unsold. Most services use both, with direct campaigns taking priority and programmatic as the backfill.
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