PubMatic Announces Prebid Server-Powered Header Bidding to Drive Ad Pod Optimisation

Premium digital technology company PubMatic today (17th June) announced the launch of OpenWrap OTT, a header bidding solution that centralises 100% of direct and programmatic demand while preserving a seamless TV-like viewer experience. PubMatic has delivered more than 8 years of header bidding technology, and Prebid Server-based OpenWrap OTT helps both publishers and advertisers realise the full economic potential of programmatic by optimising monetisation and viewer experience across the entire ad pod.

Clients including Kidoodle.TV®, Limpid, Glewed TV, Interpublic Group (IPG) and MediaMath have already signed on to use OpenWrap OTT. Early performance results show an increase in fill rates for initial partners of more than 6 times over tag integrations.

"We are excited by the added insight, scale and control we get with PubMatic OpenWrap OTT," said Jean Fitzpatrick, vice president, marketplace solutions at Kinesso, the media and marketing technology unit of Interpublic Group. "Features like first-look access to OTT inventory across both open market and private marketplaces, new ad pod controls, and highly scaled deal flexibility will all help drive more buyer interest in OTT in the near term."

OpenWrap OTT includes full support for connected TV (CTV), mobile and desktop devices as well as implementations like Server-Side Ad Insertion (SSAI) which are often used by premium video publishers and key to provide viewers a true TV-like experience. The technology is particularly valuable for the emerging OTT market because it removes many cumbersome dynamics of traditional TV buying and even fixed programmatic auctions.

The first globally available, scaled OTT header bidding solution powered by Prebid, OpenWrap OTT flattens the waterfall to increase buyer competition and drive incremental monetisation, while also solving for pervasive ad pod challenges like frequency capping, competitive exclusions and back-to-back ads.

"PubMatic's OpenWrap OTT technology prioritises the viewer experience while also delivering header bidding auction dynamics that can help us maximise ad performance for our clients," said Daniel Riddell, Chief Technology Officer at Kidoodle.TV. "We&'re also thrilled that PubMatic's solution is built on Prebid, which allows for more transparency, flexibility and integration opportunities so we can continue providing a safe streaming environment for families."

Until now, header bidding did not exist at scale for OTT inventory. OpenWrap OTT will transform the OTT and CTV market with leading technology.

 Owners and distributors of OTT content can consider programmatic and direct advertiser demand simultaneously for increased competition and higher fill rates while maintaining control over the balance of monetisation, business rules and viewer experience.

 Advertisers get the benefit of first-look access to OTT inventory via private marketplaces as well as ad pod controls, competitive pricing and deal flexibility at scale.

 Consumers get an OTT viewing experience that parallels TV, as the server-side integration reduces latency, timeouts, ad load times and buffering and eliminating repetitive ads.

“The first priority for publishers and advertisers is to deliver a great, TV-like experience. OpenWrap OTT delivers for the viewer first, which in turn drives the business goals of our clients,” said Jonas Olsen, VP Video at PubMatic. “Powered by Prebid, our independent solution offers the next generation in programmatic advertising for the rapidly emerging OTT and CTV channels.”

The expansion of OpenWrap technology to OTT and CTV inventory is the latest innovation from PubMatic. With more than a decade of omnichannel monetisation expertise, PubMatic has pioneered the use of Prebid to power header bidding technology for display, video, mobile apps with OpenWrap SDK, and now CTV and OTT.