Industry Insights: The evolving economics of ad-supported streaming

As ad-supported streaming scales, monetization is becoming more complex – and more scrutinized.

In this third part of the Industry Insights roundtable, vendors explore how growing inventory, increased competition and evolving advertiser expectations are reshaping FAST and CTV economics. The discussion examines the balance between fill rates, pricing and viewer experience, alongside the rise of new ad formats, sponsorship models and addressable capabilities.

It also highlights the growing importance of measurement, identity and data unification as the industry works to define what meaningful performance looks like.

Together, these insights point to a maturing ecosystem where success depends not just on scale, but on precision, transparency and the ability to act on data in real time.

Key takeaways from this Industry Insights roundtable

• Inventory pressures pricing: Increased supply in FAST and CTV is driving down CPMs, pushing operators toward differentiation and direct advertiser relationships.
• Experience impacts revenue: Poor ad delivery or excessive load can erode viewer retention, making quality of experience a core monetization factor.
• Measurement is evolving: Advertisers are demanding deeper insights beyond impressions, including engagement, attribution and real audience verification.
• Identity remains fragmented: Inconsistent identifiers across devices and platforms continue to limit accurate targeting and cross-platform attribution.
• Data must unify: The ability to connect fragmented data sources into actionable insights is critical for optimizing monetization and long-term growth.

How are ad-supported streaming economics changing as inventory and competition increase?

Mrugesh Desai, VP, North America, Accedo: With more players offering ad tiers and the explosion of FAST channels, there are of course more ad slots available and increased competition for advertiser budget; as a result, CPMs have dropped which is creating new challenges for monetization, and at the same time, is also creating a buyer’s market in the CTV space. For smaller or niche FAST channels, this abundance of supply can make it harder to secure premium rates, especially without strong audience targeting or unique content to differentiate the offering. To help offset declining CPMs, service providers are focussing on building direct relationships with advertisers, experimenting with interactive formats like SIMID-enabled ads, and exploring sponsorships or branded content partnerships.

Reinhard Grandl, chief product officer, Bitmovin: Ad delivery must be seamless in terms of playback, and ads must also be well-timed, highly relevant and engaging, otherwise viewers are quick to abandon content. There’s a noticeable shift towards contextual advertising where ads are more closely aligned with what viewers are watching, and additionally there’s also stronger demand for tools that enable first-party data to be used more intelligently. As ad inventory continues to grow, providers are keen to unlock monetization opportunities with more innovative ad formats such as L-bar, side-by-side, picture-in-picture and overlays, as well as interactive and shoppable ads.

Paul Davies, head of marketing and partnerships, Yospace: Advertisers today expect more than the reach of TV alone, so simply inserting an ad is no longer enough. Alongside targeting, measurement has also become critical currency; advertisers want to know what was delivered and whether it was completed. They need more granular data about the variables under which the viewer consumed the ad in order to understand the impact on what they do next in terms of attribution.

Justin Rosen, SVP, data and insights, Ampersand: As more inventory enters the market, lower CPMs can create the appearance of efficiency, but that doesn’t always hold up under scrutiny. If identity signals are unreliable, advertisers may be reaching the wrong households more often than they realize, which erodes the value of those impressions. The shift now is toward understanding that true efficiency comes from accurate audience delivery, not just lower costs..

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What trade-offs are you seeing between fill rates, CPMs, and viewer experience in FAST environments?

Paul Davies, head of marketing and partnerships, Yospace: For premium OTT services, there is an expectation for a true TV experience, with smooth transitions to and from ads. To achieve that, ad creatives should be fetched from the same CDN as the main content, in order to prevent unnecessary delays or glitches, and audiovisual levels should be matched to avoid any unexpected bursts of noise. On top of that, the advertising must fit within newer functionality, such as the ability to target ads, or for viewers to rewind during a streaming session. These are base level requirements nowadays.

Rachel Herbstman, VP, data innovation, Ampersand: There’s a natural push to maximize fill and maintain pricing, but that can come at the expense of both accuracy and the viewer experience. High fill rates don’t necessarily translate to effective campaigns if the ads aren’t reaching the right households. Finding the right balance means focusing less on volume alone and more on ensuring those impressions are actually meaningful.

How are sponsorships and branded integrations evolving alongside traditional ad loads?

Roberto Musso, technical director, NDI: Viewers tune out pod breaks, and brands know it, which is pushing more budget toward integrated formats. The targeting and measurement capabilities that make those integrations worth paying for have gotten genuinely good. What used to be available only to the biggest platforms is now accessible to operators working at much smaller scale.

Kris Johns, CEO and founder, AdGood: Sponsorships and branded integrations are moving beyond just interrupting content with traditional ads. When messaging is woven thoughtfully into the content experience, it feels more authentic and resonates more deeply with viewers. Partnerships that complement the story can extend reach and create a more meaningful connection, helping campaigns make an impact across FAST and CTV platforms without feeling forced.

What metrics matter most internally when evaluating FAST and CTV monetization success?

Mrugesh Desai, VP, North America, Accedo: To sustain revenue growth in the FAST ecosystem, service providers need to closely monitor viewer retention rates and ad break utilization, both of which are critical metrics. Service providers are increasingly using AI powered tools to streamline the creation and management of channels; these tools allow providers to dynamically optimize the content mix, which helps to maximize viewer retention and ad break utilization.

Reinhard Grandl, chief product officer, Bitmovin: Ad performance is critical, so video providers need metrics that go beyond just tracking ad impressions. To deliver a high-quality viewing experience, maximize fill rates, increase revenue, and retain viewers, video services need both ad analytics and quality of experience data. With these insights, providers gain visibility into the number of ads played, plays per quartile, startup times, errors, abandonment rates, etc. Additionally, if metrics can be filtered to identify commonalities between viewers, devices, stream types, and ad servers, the data can be used to inform decisions around whether to expand or abandon ad campaigns.

Paul Davies, head of marketing and partnerships, Yospace: Improving ad measurement is the key to maximizing ad revenue across FAST and CTV. Alongside standard metrics such as impressions when an ad plays, quartiles to show what percentage of the ad was viewed, completion rates, and user interactions such as mute and pause that help measure engagement, there’s a growing need to also provide further metrics to add context. These enhanced measurements include whether the ad was fully visible or obscured by something else on screen, what proportion of screen space it played at, whether it was muted or not, and if applicable, what volume level the audio played at.

Roberto Musso, technical director, NDI: Fill rate and CPM are the starting point but they don’t capture whether the monetization model is actually sustainable. Engagement and retention data show whether ad load is working with the viewing experience or against it, which has long-term revenue implications. The technology to surface and connect those metrics across platforms exists, but many operators are still working on building the infrastructure to use it effectively.

Kris Johns, CEO and founder, AdGood: The metrics that matter most go beyond traditional CPMs or fill rates. Engagement, awareness, and tangible actions, like website visits, sign-ups, or other audience responses, are what really show whether content is resonating. Looking at both exposure and behavior helps guide future strategy and ensures campaigns are not just seen, but driving meaningful impact.

Justin Rosen, SVP, data and insights, Ampersand: Metrics like CPMs and fill rates are easy to track, but they don’t mean much if you can’t verify who was actually reached. What matters more is whether campaigns are delivering against real, intended audiences and driving measurable outcomes. That puts more emphasis on the quality of the identity behind the impression, not just the impression itself.

How mature are SSAI and dynamic ad insertion workflows today compared to expectations a few years ago?

Hadar Tel Mizrahi, senior product manager, targeted ads and recommendations, Viaccess-Orca: Server-side ad insertion and dynamic ad insertion are now widely deployed across OTT streaming and FAST platforms, and the core delivery technology is largely mature. However, the ecosystem around it, particularly measurement consistency, attribution, and cross-platform reporting, still lags behind expectations. As ad-supported streaming grows, the industry focus has shifted from simply inserting ads reliably to improving transparency, identity resolution, and advertiser confidence across fragmented CTV environments.

Santiago Rodríguez, TV platform lead, AgileTV: SSAI and dynamic ad insertion have matured significantly and are now widely deployed across streaming and FAST environments. The focus is increasingly shifting toward improving measurement transparency and optimizing viewer experience alongside monetization, with more tailored, dynamic and adaptive storefronts driven by data, combining aggregated signals such as rankings with deeper personalization.

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Paul Davies, head of marketing and partnerships, Yospace: Dynamic ad insertion (DAI) has grown much more sophisticated over the last few years, with technological advancements in both ad delivery and targeting at mass scale to secure the highest possible revenues from each ad placement. Now, through developments from the IAB, we are starting to see new ad formats emerge to provide media companies with better options to achieve monetization. We are also seeing the next evolution of ad-insertion technology emerge. Server-guided ad insertion (SGAI) is based on industry standards that promise better interoperability and efficiency, opening the door to ultra low latency with addressable advertising, and new ad opportunities in extended DVR windows.

Yang Cai, CEO and president, VisualOn: While server-side stitching is now highly reliable, player-side issues like ad-break signaling and seek behavior remain surprisingly complex across different devices. The industry underestimated how much device-specific implementation would still be required despite standardized protocols.

What gaps still exist in measurement, attribution, or transparency for FAST and CTV advertising?

Paul Davies, head of marketing and partnerships, Yospace: Measurement is at the center of unlocking ad value, yet measuring ads consistently and reliably at scale across the variety of devices that viewers use, is a real challenge for the industry. A more standardized approach to measurement is needed to deliver consistency and build advertiser confidence. Emerging standards like the SVTA Ad Creative Signalling and the latest iteration of CTA’s Common Media Client Data (CMCDv2) for Client-Guided Tracking seek to tackle the measurement challenge and create a more transparent ad ecosystem.

Yang Cai, CEO and president, VisualOn: Fragmented device IDs within a single household make cross-platform attribution an unsolved challenge. Additionally, discrepancies between buyer and seller reporting persist, even as IAB standards improve impression-level transparency.

Kris Johns, CEO and founder, AdGood: For mission-driven campaigns, measuring impact goes beyond clicks or impressions. Attribution is especially challenging because data is fragmented across platforms and devices, making it hard to connect audience engagement to real-world outcomes like donations, sign-ups, or advocacy actions. Greater transparency and standardized measurement would help organizations understand what truly works, so media can be used more effectively to drive positive change.

Rachel Herbstman, VP, data innovation, Ampersand: One of the biggest gaps comes down to the instability of identity across platforms. Advertisers may think they’re reaching the same audience across environments, but in reality, those identity frameworks often don’t align, making it difficult to consistently connect exposure to outcomes. Until the industry addresses that foundation, measurement and attribution will continue to reflect approximations rather than reality.

How are broadcasters preparing ad stacks for increased programmatic and addressable demand?

Dave Dembowski, chief revenue officer, Operative: Broadcasters are leaning into flexible technology that can help them deliver to audiences across channels. Rather than tacking on point solutions, broadcasters can harness the full value of their content and give advertisers access to audiences wherever they are by unifying their ad stack with technology that can connect the dots across channels, rather than build walls.

Justin Rosen, SVP, data and insights, Ampersand: A lot of the focus is on enabling more programmatic and addressable capabilities, but what’s becoming clear is that those systems are only as strong as the identity behind them. Broadcasters are starting to prioritize more stable, household-level identifiers that can persist across screens and environments. That shift helps reduce fragmentation and creates a more reliable foundation for both targeting and measurement.

What adtech capabilities are now table stakes versus emerging differentiators?

Rick Young, SVP and head of global products, LTN Global: Where differentiation is beginning to emerge is in the ability to customize advertising across multiple platforms and audiences in real time. Live events often require different ad loads depending on geography, distribution agreements, or platform requirements, which increases the importance of infrastructure that can manage advertising variations automatically through metadata and scheduling cues. Another developing area involves enabling tailored advertising across multiple versions of the same live event, since a single game may serve different sponsors across broadcast television, FAST channels, and direct-to-consumer streams.

Reinhard Grandl, chief product officer, Bitmovin: This means investing in infrastructure that can support high-frequency bidding while balancing cost, scalability, and a seamless viewer experience. This is particularly important during live and large-scale events. Ad insertion models are also evolving beyond traditional CSAI which can introduce challenges around ad blocking, device compatibility, and playback transitions. As a result, providers are increasingly adopting server-guided ad insertion (SGAI), which reduces infrastructure overhead, improves flexibility, and enables more dynamic ad experiences, such as real-time updates during live and DVR viewing.

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Dave Dembowski, chief revenue officer, Operative: Table stakes today are seamless, unified sales, operations and measurement across channels. Sales teams are selling across broadcast, streaming, video and digital and they need workflows, data and products that can give advertisers what they want. On the other hand, AI is still emerging. AI will improve business intelligence and reduce manual work and “swivel chair” complexity, but companies are just now testing it.

Yang Cai, CEO and president, VisualOn: SSAI, basic programmatic demand, and IAB-compliant ad pods are now expected baseline capabilities — buyers won’t work with you without them. The differentiators are shifting toward personalization at the household level, cross-platform frequency capping, and outcomes-based measurement tied to specific campaign goals. Interactive ad formats on CTV are still early but generating real interest from brand advertisers.

What does meaningful measurement look like for streaming, FAST, and Connected TV today?

Mrugesh Desai, VP, North America, Accedo: Although challenging to achieve because there is a lack of universal ad measurement tools and standards, content owners should strive for accurate ad measurement across platforms. This means leveraging existing measurement solutions and collaborating with industry partners to achieve accurate data collection and analysis. This information is vital for making informed decisions and optimizing ad performance across ad-supported services.

Santiago Rodríguez, TV platform lead, AgileTV: Meaningful measurement combines engagement metrics with business outcomes. Time spent, completion rates, and session frequency often provide deeper insights than raw reach alone. Audience profiling and segmentation are also key, helping operators better understand their customers to improve engagement and ARPU while strengthening ad monetization. The challenge remains consolidating fragmented platform data into a unified view that can genuinely inform programming, distribution, and monetization decisions.

Reinhard Grandl, chief product officer, Bitmovin: If a stream starts to buffer or lag, this exacerbates viewer dissatisfaction with the service, pushing them ever closer to churning. Yet all too often monitoring is a reactive process where issues are only investigated after the event. Video teams therefore need to adopt a different approach to measuring quality of experience where real-time observability insights allow for issues to be identified and resolved before they impact viewers.

Yang Cai, CEO and president, VisualOn: Meaningful measurement starts with QoE data — rebuffering rate, startup time, bitrate stability — because these directly correlate with retention and ad completion, and they’re fully within the operator’s control to monitor. Above that, session depth and return visit frequency tell you more about content resonance than raw views. The challenge is most organizations are still normalizing these signals before they can act on them.

Where do current measurement frameworks break down across platforms and environments?

Yang Cai, CEO and president, VisualOn: Most frameworks were built around the browser and mobile app, then retrofitted to CTV — and that retrofit shows. Device identifiers on connected TVs are inconsistent, background processing behavior varies by manufacturer, and there’s no universal standard for what constitutes a “view” across Samsung, Roku, Fire TV, and LG environments. This makes cross-platform de-duplication genuinely hard and means reported reach numbers should carry wider error bars than most reports acknowledge.

How are organizations reconciling fragmented data sources into a usable view of performance?

Dave Dembowski, chief revenue officer, Operative: Broadcasters don’t want to have to rip out legacy systems that drive large parts of their business. Rather, they are turning to technology partners that can easily stitch disparate data sourced together and unify them into a single product catalog and streamlined workflow. This gives organizations the best of both worlds — they can keep what they have while also growing into the future.

What measurement capabilities are most critical to support the next phase of streaming growth?

Mrugesh Desai, VP, North America, Accedo: Streaming services generally recognize the importance of implementing a data-driven strategy in order to make informed decisions that enhance engagement and reduce churn. The challenge comes because even with measurements are available around things like viewer engagement, retention patterns and churn signals, it’s difficult to know what to change and when to change it to get the desired outcome, especially without negatively impacting other key factors such as performance and cost. Rather than specific measurement capabilities being required, what’s needed is the ability to act quickly and effectively on data, and agentic AI is going to be instrumental in this area.

Reinhard Grandl, chief product officer, Bitmovin: As streaming enters a new phase defined by speed, scale and increasingly sophisticated advertising models, measurement capabilities must evolve to deliver real-time, actionable insight. Quality of experience (QoE) is clearly a key driver for engagement and loyalty, and so it of course needs to considered a critical business metric. Added to this, another critical requirement as we move forward is end-to-end observability that links playback performance with ad delivery and engagement, enabling providers to quickly identify and resolve issues that could impact both revenue and viewer experience.