CTV inventory and buying options

For an Australian CTV campaign, establish where the ad can run before deciding how to buy it. Inventory may come from a broadcaster’s streaming service, an ad-supported subscription tier or another advertising-funded TV app.

A direct booking, a negotiated programmatic deal and an auction can offer different access to those environments. None of those labels alone guarantees TV-screen delivery, a particular programme or a set number of impressions.

Map the available inventory

Start with the service, content and screen. Broadcaster video on demand (BVOD) can include live streams and on-demand programmes, but a broadcaster service does not necessarily sell ads in every viewing session.

Subscription services may offer ad-supported and ad-free plans. Other apps may fund viewing through advertising without a subscription. Eligibility can vary by plan, programme, event and device.

For each proposed inventory group, ask for the service or app, included content, live or on-demand status, ad placement and eligible devices. If the brief is for CTV, request a TV-screen-only forecast. A service’s audience or subscriber count is not a forecast of its saleable TV ad impressions.

Also establish who controls and sells the ad space. The seller may be the publisher, a platform or an intermediary. A familiar app name in a proposal does not, by itself, establish which impressions the buyer can access.

Read the ad opportunity

Inventory can also be classified by the format or position offered, not just by service and screen. IAB Tech Lab’s CTV Ad Portfolio initiative identifies six formats for standardisation: Pause Ads, Menu Ads, Screensaver Ads, Overlay Ads, In-Scene Insertion Ads and Squeeze Back Ads.

A commercial break can be represented as a pod opportunity rather than a single ad slot. Podded Bidding in OpenRTB 2.6 lets a streaming platform signal slots within a multi-ad break, so buyers can bid for specific positions in that break.

Treat a format label as a description of the proposed opportunity, not as a substitute for confirming the inventory and placement offered. Availability varies by publisher and format.

Choose a buying route

The routes can overlap. A buyer and publisher may negotiate directly and execute through a programmatic guaranteed deal. Access to a private auction, however, does not reserve impressions. Check the written terms and buying-platform setup together.

A booking with a stated inventory and delivery commitment may suit a campaign tied to a programme, event or short period. A wider eligible pool may suit a flexible brief. Neither route is automatically cheaper or more effective; compare offers against the same requirements.

Identify the seller chain

For programmatic inventory, ask the seller for a concise account of the supply path. Sellers.json, the OpenRTB SupplyChain object and ads.txt are relevant transparency tools.

Compare offers on the same terms

Give sellers the same Australian locations, dates, audience definition, permitted screens and creative length. Ask each to distinguish TV-screen from other-device delivery; live from on-demand content; named apps from pooled inventory; committed delivery from a forecast; and reporting included in the offer from reporting that needs separate arrangements.

For a package covering several services, ask for the expected mix, permitted substitutions and the detail available in delivery reports. A forecast is useful for planning, but it does not promise impressions in every listed app. Confirm the actual ad placement and accepted creative too: an industry format such as a pause ad is not necessarily available in a particular buy.

Record the agreed inventory boundaries, commitment, substitution rule and reporting in the booking. If a particular publisher or programme is essential, make that requirement explicit in the terms.

Separate the route from the commitment

A buying route and a delivery commitment are distinct attributes of an offer. A programmatic source, for example, may be guaranteed or non-guaranteed; the route alone does not establish which commitment applies.

Google Display & Video 360’s inventory-source record includes a commitment field indicating whether delivery is guaranteed or not guaranteed. When comparing a proposal with a platform setup, check that the commitment shown in the setup matches the written offer.