IBC 2025 Preview: Adtech scales up while privacy rules reshape targeting

As the broadcast industry gathers in Amsterdam for IBC 2025, advertising technology and monetization strategies will take center stage amid evolving viewer habits and regulatory changes.

With streaming audiences growing and traditional linear viewership patterns shifting, broadcasters face pressure to maximize revenue across fragmented platforms while navigating new privacy requirements.

The challenges are complex: maintaining ad quality during live events, adapting to privacy regulations that limit traditional targeting methods, and bridging the gap between programmatic advertising systems and broadcast-ready infrastructure. Industry leaders attending IBC will likely focus on solutions that address these interconnected issues.

Intelligent ad insertion at scale

The scale of live streaming events has grown substantially, creating new technical demands for ad insertion systems. During Euro 2024, Yospace processed more than 6 billion addressable ads throughout the tournament, representing what was then a peak volume driven by the live sporting event.

“Today, we’re stitching 8 billion ads each month as everyday traffic, demonstrating the sharp viewership growth in live sports streaming,” said Paul Davies, head of marketing at Yospace.

This volume increase highlights the technical challenges broadcasters face during high-traffic periods.

The company cited an example from a Euro 2024 semi-final match between England and the Netherlands, where millions of viewers simultaneously entered an ad break after a 90th-minute goal. The surge triggered a spike in ad requests as casual observers tuned in to watch replays.

The solution involved prefetch technology, which resolved ad requests in advance to prevent server overload. This approach allowed ad servers additional processing time and prevented blank ad slots that would result in revenue losses.

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Current intelligent ad insertion systems must support both legacy and current-generation devices while accommodating updated streaming protocols, including MPEG-DASH Events and HLS Interstitials. The goal is to expand addressable advertising reach across a broadcaster’s entire audience base.

Privacy compliance and data protection

Privacy regulations have altered how broadcasters approach audience targeting and data handling. Ad insertion systems now serve as intermediaries between advertising technology platforms and viewer information.

“User data and IP addresses must remain anonymous to comply with data protection rules and to avoid the re-targeting of a broadcaster’s audience by adtech giants,” Davies said.

The shift has prompted development of alternative targeting methods. Yang Cai, CEO and president of VisualOn, noted the industry movement toward contextual targeting and on-device decision-making processes that function without personal identifiers.

“With stricter privacy rules, there’s a shift toward contextual targeting and on-device decision-making that doesn’t rely on personal identifiers,” Cai said. “The focus is on delivering relevant, non-disruptive ads while respecting user privacy and maintaining playback quality.”

This approach requires ad insertion technology to make targeting decisions based on content context rather than individual user profiles, while processing occurs locally on viewer devices rather than through centralized systems that collect personal data.

Platform fragmentation challenges

The current media landscape includes numerous playback environments, from mobile applications to smart television sets, each with distinct technical requirements and capabilities. This fragmentation complicates ad delivery and measurement across platforms.

“Intelligent ad insertion today needs to prioritize seamless integration across diverse playback environments, from mobile apps to smart TVs,” Cai said.

Broadcasters must ensure their ad insertion systems function consistently across these environments while maintaining video quality and user experience standards. The technical complexity increases when considering different operating systems, hardware capabilities, and network conditions that affect ad delivery.

Any segment of a broadcaster’s audience that cannot receive targeted advertising represents lost revenue opportunities. The challenge involves creating systems flexible enough to adapt to different platform constraints while maintaining advertising effectiveness.

Programmatic and broadcast convergence

The advertising industry has operated with separate systems for traditional broadcast and digital programmatic advertising, but these approaches are beginning to merge as viewing habits change.

“As viewing habits evolve and technology advances, the divide between programmatic and broadcast is quickly disappearing,” said Avi Yampolsky, vice president of international accounts at Operative.

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Traditional linear television channels are adopting capabilities typically associated with digital platforms, while streaming services increasingly carry live content that follows established broadcast advertising practices. This convergence requires media companies to restructure their operations.

“Advertisers want to reach audiences seamlessly across all screens, and that requires media companies to unify their operations – breaking down silos to package inventory flexibly, sell across channels, and deliver campaigns dynamically,” Yampolsky said.

The integration involves combining separate sales teams, inventory management systems, and campaign delivery platforms that previously operated independently. Success requires moving beyond parallel workflows toward unified systems that handle both traditional and programmatic advertising through single interfaces.

Eric Gallier, vice president of video solutions at Harmonic, described how broadcasters are incorporating programmatic capabilities into linear television channels to access digital advertising ecosystem benefits.

“By leveraging programmatic advertising, broadcasters can unlock new demand, boost ad revenues and maximize yield through automated, data-driven transactions and measurement,” Gallier said.

The convergence requires substantial changes to existing broadcast infrastructure.

Broadcasters must implement systems capable of making real-time advertising decisions while maintaining the reliability standards expected in traditional broadcasting environments.

Programmatic advertising relies on automated bidding systems that select ads within milliseconds, while broadcast environments require guaranteed ad placement and consistent playback quality. Combining these requirements demands infrastructure that can process programmatic transactions while ensuring broadcast-quality delivery.

The integration also affects measurement and reporting systems. Traditional broadcast advertising uses different metrics and timing standards compared to digital programmatic campaigns. Unified systems must provide consistent measurement across both environments to meet advertiser expectations.

As industry professionals gather for IBC 2025, discussions will likely center on practical implementation strategies for these converging technologies. Exhibitors will demonstrate solutions that address the technical challenges of scale, privacy compliance and platform integration.

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The event provides an opportunity for broadcasters to evaluate new technologies and strategies for maximizing advertising revenue while adapting to changing regulatory and technical requirements.

With live streaming audiences continuing to grow and privacy regulations evolving, the solutions showcased at IBC will help determine how the industry approaches these challenges in the coming year.

The focus remains on creating systems that can handle increasing scale while maintaining quality and compliance standards, positioning broadcasters to capitalize on growing streaming advertising opportunities across all platforms and devices.