Over the past few weeks, we’ve covered what streaming is. Just as important is understanding how it’s actually bought. Campaigns that understand this can move faster, scale further, and stay confident in the inventory they’re buying.
The technology behind digitally available streaming is very different from that of traditional TV.
On traditional TV, everyone watching a program sees the same ad. In streaming, every viewer can see something different. Behind each ad break, real-time auctions happen in milliseconds. Political campaigns and brands compete for each impression, and the highest bid wins.
Understanding this marketplace is critical.
Programmatic vs. Direct
There are two ways to buy streaming.
Programmatic: Automated buying through technology platforms (DSPs) that aggregate streaming inventory from hundreds of apps and publishers. This is how a trader (buyer) can access the ad auction directly.
Direct: You negotiate directly with individual networks. Fixed CPM rates, guaranteed impressions, locked inventory. A traditional buy model applied to streaming.
84% of CTV transactions are programmatic. Direct buying is typically reserved for large “premium” apps that can afford their own sales force, which represent only 23% of the total streaming time available to political advertisers.
How do direct versus programmatic compare?
Programmatic | Direct | |
|---|---|---|
How it works | Automated through DSPs | 1-to-1 negotiated with networks |
Scale | Hundreds of apps | Specific networks |
Execution Speed | Fast | Slow |
Pricing | Dynamic bid, controlled cost | Fixed, higher costs |
Flexibility | Optimize in real time | Rigid |
Use cases | Foundation for reach, scale, speed | Used for specific placements |
Programmatic is high-frequency trading, and direct is buying a stock certificate.
Most political streaming must be bought programmatically to ensure effective reach at the speed of politics.
What are the different types of programmatic?
Buying platforms or DSPs enable buyers to access supply partners (SSPs) who aggregate hundreds of apps into easily accessible deals they can bid against. At any one time, buyers could be bidding on diverse, fragmented inventory.
These “deals” come in three forms:
Programmatic Guaranteed (PG) - A fixed, pre-negotiated deal with locked pricing and impression volume, executed through a DSP. A programmatic direct buy.
Programmatic Private Marketplace (PMP) - An invite-only auction where select buyers bid on a publisher’s inventory before it reaches the open market.
Open Exchange - The real-time, open auction where any buyer can bid on available impressions without restrictions or pre-negotiated access.
What deal type is the most common?
In the general market, 59% of ad impressions are bought through PG or PMP deals. For political ads, that number is much lower. And to be fair, PG rarely works for political buys for all the same reasons that direct doesn’t work.
But buying on the open exchange is negligence.
Everyone wants a cut of streaming buys; streaming impressions are more expensive than other mediums so there is money to be made. There’s some good inventory in open exchanges, but it’s the wild west.
Political buyers who do not curate and intentionally target streaming supply are wasting campaign budgets.
What does this mean for political advertisers?
Don’t chase the lowest CPM. Price efficiency is important, but the lower the CPM, the higher the instances of resellers and fraudulent inventory.
Ask your buyer about their supply strategy; demand to know what percentage of impressions are served on PMPs versus the open exchange.
Work with trusted vendors. Your agency and buyers should understand this and communicate their strategy. If they can’t, find one who can.