Online viewing has seen tremendous growth in the last couple of years with double-digit growth in the video on demand (VOD), linear (live sports, events, and so on), and simulcast (multi-transmission) streaming formats.
Nearly 70% of traditional TV viewers have switched to over-the-top (OTT) formats. While advertising-based video on demand (AVOD) and transactional video on demand (TVOD) models have been at the top of the online viewership game, the subscription video on demand (SVOD) model has slowly begun to challenge their collective authority. To remain competitive, broadcasters and communications service providers (CSPs) need to look for addressable (targeted or programmatic), personalized and relevant ads based on viewing history, location, device type, and more. However, delivering a custom ad to each viewer places a considerable demand on the ad ecosystem. This paper outlines how the industry can meet the addressable ad challenges in live and VOD experiences and how new technologies such as server-side ad insertion (SSAI) and 5G can help scale up the ad ecosystem.
Expectations regarding the global video-on-demand market will reach nearly $160 billion by 2027.
The subscription video on demand (SVOD) has also been growing as it offers a massive variety of entertainment video content. CSPs and broadcasters, to remain competitive, look to reduce ad loads and boost ad values with targeted and relevant ads inserted dynamically into the video stream. Client-side ad insertion is one of the most accessible options available where it is possible to add ads to the player. However, this approach entails a few challenges. The video rendering experience is inconsistent as the actual video stream, and ad video come from different sources and formats and are stitched together in the player. The ads are vulnerable to malware as the client configures them, and external plugins can easily block them. In addition, targeted and programmatic ad decisioning is challenging, given the dependency on the client app.
Server-side dynamic ad insertion (SSDAI) is an alternative approach, wherein ads are inserted into the online video by the streaming server without depending on the client or player. SSDAI offers the capability to address these challenges, with benefits such as smoother video streaming coupled with improved video and audio quality. Adblocking is more complex, and it helps keep malware infection at bay. It also provides greater visibility for B2B players on the type of ads, identifying the slots, monitoring, and analyzing the insights.
Three main components of the programmatic ad ecosystem must work in concert to deliver a personalized ad to the suitable viewer at the right time.
They are server-side ad insertion (SSAI), supply-side ad platform (SSP), and demand-side ad platform (DSP). Figure 1 outlines the high-level integration points of the platform, where the broadcaster ad decision server integrates the demand and supply-side platform.
Figure 1: SSDAI 5G-Powered Platform
The DSP enables media and audiences to buy in real-time on ad exchanges. The SSP allows publishers to manage ad inventory yield and enables routing of ad exchanges. CSPs and broadcasters will be able to switch ads in real-time with personalized ads. The 5G edge computing services (vCDN-virtual) enable seamless, rich, and real-time experiences.
From ad-break detection to ad insertion, the entire process takes less than a second and repeats for every viewer with every ad break. The final piece is content delivery with relevant ads to the right audiences on suitable devices by consistently maintaining the integrity of users’ viewing experience. A content delivery network (CDN) facilitates this.
The CDN makes manifest data available to the SSAI to provide a personalized experience to each user based on the instructions from the ad tech ecosystem. The SSAI delivers the personalized manifest to end-viewer devices, while CDN handles the last-mile video delivery.
The entire content delivery system needs to work with the SSAI workflow to ensure a seamless experience across various network conditions, devices, and geo-locations. Here, 5G with mobile edge computing (MEC) can harness the required ecosystem in delivering the quality of experience (QoE) in the end-to-end workflow.
There are expectations that 5G technology will radically impact content consumption by ushering in a new and exciting ad inventory with more AR-VR ads on the cards.
It will also influence digital video ads and dynamic video creatives, which will mature and increase commensurate with faster download and streaming speeds in the coming days. This much-touted technology offers the opportunity to create new and more immersive ad units that can load quickly, resulting in lower bounce rates and even a reduced need for ad blockers. Ad tech companies will, in all probability, embrace 5G to update their infrastructure for increased flexibility with faster audience reconciliation and more programmatic transactions, with latency expected to reduce from 40 milliseconds to 6-10 milliseconds.
Figure 2 provides the modular architecture of the SSDAI integration with the ecosystem.
Figure 2: SSDAI Modular Architecture
As shown in Figure 2, the significant modules of platform CDN (VOD and live), ads-hosted CDN, and manifest files can reside in 5G. 5G will enable mobile edge locations to serve personalized and programmable ads. The ad exchange platform provides ads from different sources, based in edge locations. The source of the ads is in mezzanine format, needing to create mezzanine ads in various pre-sets just in time (JIT), enabled by 5G. The modular architecture supports third party or a customized ad decision server. The platform allows for a recommendation engine that delivers customized and personalized ads for the individual customer. The ad inventory and real-time dashboard provide ad effectiveness and insights data. The framework and solution are independent of product vendors and provide seamless integration between technology vendors, SSP, and DSP platforms, customized to the individual CSP or broadcaster requirements.
Figure 3 provides details of end-to-end workflow implementation in stitching ads to the players based on customer requests.
Figure 3: Server-Side Ad Insertion
The workflow is as follows:
1. Player sends a request for live or VOD (video-on-demand) content streaming to CDN
2. Content streams from the origin server to CDN
3. SSDAI module supplies the modified manifest and modified variant playlists based on viewer information gathered from the player via user viewing history, device type, current location, and so on.
3.1 Ad content will be transcoded and created to stream chunks
3.2 CDN will receive updated manifest and playlists.
The overall flow stitching of the ad is completed in 0.5 seconds, and with 5G, the overall response can be reduced to a few milliseconds.
SSDAI with 5G: Transforming video advertising dynamics
Consumers' viewing patterns are constantly evolving. While a majority have been patronizing the SVOD and TVOD models, even those who thus far had not yet cut the cord, are slowly beginning to shift allegiance to the former. The live and linear formats require ads, but not at the same ad load frequencies and choice as traditional television. It also requires an entirely different ad ecosystem to deliver personalized, targeted ads with millisecond accuracy. However, a challenging goal is to bring transformation in online video streaming with targeted, personalized, and addressable dynamic ads to a large audience for live and linear video streams. It needs next-gen technologies, global standards, and mature ecosystems. It is essential to create a common platform with technology partners, media and broadcasters, equipment vendors, telcos, and other industries to develop the 5G-powered SSDAI ecosystem.
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