JW Player and SpotX ink video header bidding agreement

Network-independent video platform JW Player has launched Video Player Bidding, a header bidding solution for video with SpotX, the video advertising and monetisation platform for publishers, as its exclusive partner for 12 months. The company said Video Player Bidding is purpose-built for digital video to greatly reduce latency and improve monetisation with just one click. The solution enables JW Player’s publisher customer base to easily access SpotX’s demand marketplace and ad serving capabilities.

Header bidding is the practice by which publishers can simultaneously garner bids for ad impressions from multiple demand sources at once, before calling the ad server, enabling publishers to maximise inventory rates, when compared to traditional, “waterfall” methodologies. The shift to header bidding began in display advertising, but has yet to be fully realised in digital video due to the difficulty of implementation and fragmented nature of the marketplace.

Video Player Bidding combines JW Player’s global publisher footprint with SpotX’s ad technology solutions to solve implementation challenges. Any eligible publisher that uses JW Player and meets SpotX’s brand safety and verification requirements can enable the integration with a single click within JW Player’s interface, with no additional code or developer resources requirements.

By integrating directly into the video player, the ad decision is made server-side before a viewer hits ‘Play’ reducing latency and leading to higher fill rates and greater ad revenue. Buyers can also access video metadata (such as content data) before they bid, and additionally, publishers will have server-side access to more than 65 DSPs, giving advertisers access to premium inventory that was previously unavailable.

Penske Media Corporation, owner of media properties including Rolling Stone and Variety, is one of the first publishers testing Video Player Bidding. Its VP, revenue operations, Brian Levine, said: “The new JW/SpotX partnership will introduce a great ad product much needed by the industry today. Video monetisation is quickly becoming the most important aspect of a publisher’s programmatic strategy, and it’s nice to see the two leaders in their respective specialties bring a simple, elegant solution to the marketplace.”

The Video Player Bidding integration is currently in beta and will be made available to a select group of joint JW Player and SpotX customers on 1 March 2018.

Source: Mobile Marketing Magazine

  Ad Tech, Advertising, Digital, Header Bidding, Header Bidding Solution, JW Player, Marketing, SpotX, Technology, Video, Video Player, Video Player Bidding