CTV Demand Integration for Publishers, VAST vs openRTB

Over the past decade, the CTV market has significantly increased in both audience and advertising budgets, with Programmatic Advertising taking the largest share. According to the IAB (Internet Advertising Bureau) in the USA, the share of CTV in total Digital Programmatic Ad Spending was less than 1% in 2013. Ten years later, in 2023, Programmatic media buying spendings on CTV devices reached 16.5%. A similar trend can be observed in other Tier 1 countries.

Audience interest in CTV applications grows every year, primarily driven by technological advancements, interest in the gaming industry, and streaming platforms. People are increasingly staying home, spending time in front of their TVs, watching favorite TV shows, sports events, or playing games on large TV screens. Xbox and Sony PlayStation publishers hold a special place in the CTV ecosystem, but we will discuss them in another article.

So, whether you are a novice or an experienced CTV publisher, you have probably wondered how to maximize your CTV application revenue with minimal time investment. This requires building the right technical architecture for your demand partners.

Currently, there are two most common ways of demand integration:

• OpenRTB endpoint
• VAST

OpenRTB endpoint - Nowadays, this represents a URL that accepts a backend request and sends a response according to the IAB openRTB protocol 2.5 / 2.6 specification.

VAST - Video Advertising Standard Template - a URL that transmits XML markup.

WMG International (known as adWMG) has extensive experience in monetizing CTV applications. From our experience, globally renowned publishers have no preference for one integration method over the other. Some CTV publishers prefer VAST, while others favor openRTB. Let's look at the advantages and disadvantages of each.

OpenRTB endpoint

To integrate advertisers into your CTV application via the OpenRTB endpoint, you need a fairly complex technical architecture that includes an SDK, Ad Exchange, or your SSP (Supply Side Platform). This integration method is chosen by direct publishers or media agencies that typically have a qualified technical team. When connecting a demand partner, you as a publisher will encounter the following challenges:

• Integrate the DSP endpoint into your architecture.
• Set up the correct transmission of all required parameters depending on advertiser preferences. This could include bundle id, supply chain, COPPA, TCF, etc. (WMG International (adWMG) will discuss these in other articles).
• Agree on a unified method for counting impressions - the actual display of ads.
• Compare discrepancy over the same period. The OpenRTB technology allows both the publisher and the advertiser to count impressions on their sides, and the discrepancy parameter shows the difference between the publisher's and advertiser's data.

The main advantage of this integration method is that you can connect as many demand partners as you want, set a maximum response time (tmax) for each of them, and all demand partners will compete for ad display in your application in real-time. Hence the name openRTB = Open Real Time Bidding. The ad with the highest CPM will be shown.

There are First Price Auction and Second Price Auction models, but that is for another article, which the adWMG team will be happy to explain later.

VAST

To display ad campaigns via VAST integration, you as a publisher will need a Video Ad Server. Usually, you don't need to have your technical team. Instead, you connect to one of the most common CTV Video Servers (example: Publica or SpringServe), and one programmatic ad operation specialist fully controls the connection. The main disadvantage of this model is that you will need to set up a waterfall model, where you arrange your partners' VASTs in order of priority, and each time pass the request to the next demand partner if the previous one could not provide you with an ad creative due to a too high CPM floor or any other reason. Of course, this increases the time to show the ad and significantly limits the number of allowable demand partners. But there is a solution...

VAST integration nowadays is divided into:

• Client Side
• Server Side

Depending on which type you as a publisher prefer, you should request that VAST type from your demand partner. If you prefer VAST Client Side, make sure your video player supports all possible main SDKs. For example, to connect CTV demand from Google, you need to have PAL SDK or IMA SDK installed. In VAST Server Side, the publisher will need to pass many parameters. This integration allows you to set up demand on your server side, significantly increasing the likelihood that your partners' demand will work correctly due to the absence of certain parameters.

Summary

If you are a novice CTV publisher with a small number of applications:

• Opt for VAST Client Side.
• Connect your application to a Video Ad Server from Publica, SpringServe, or Google.
• Integrate PAL and IMA SDK into your video player.
• Choose 5-7 reliable demand partners.
• Continuously change the priorities of their VASTs in your waterfall, putting first the VAST that provides a higher CPM.
• Don't forget to update your app-ads.txt lines.
• Monitor monetization efficiency yourself or allocate an ad operation manager.

If you are an experienced CTV studio: this material might just refresh your views, but you already know how to monetize your content =), and if you still have questions, consult the professional team at WMG International (adWMG).

We hope that after reading this material, you can increase the revenue of your CTV applications and simplify this task. Your adWMG team.