服务器端广告插入状态2019
服务器端广告插入(SSAI)的基本前提是它提供了一个更快的, TV-like ad delivery, higher ad-viewing completion, the ability to bypass ad blockers, 更容易跨多个端点进行集成. But the ad-tech world is far from simple, and there are a number of important questions industry leaders grappled with in the past year around how SSAI should work and how well it can scale. 以下是经过编辑的电话和电子邮件采访的评论.
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SSAI 101
SSAI可以为不同的观众群体创建个性化的媒体流，从而获得不同的广告. 广告中断与广告决策服务器通信, 是什么决定了为每个特定的群体提供什么服务, 基于查看历史记录等信息, demographics, and geographical location. 所有这些都发生在服务器端.
SSAI takes the manifest that points to ad segments and the manifest that points to content segments and creates a new manifest that points to them both. SSAI replaces ad stitching, which came about because of device fragmentation in which some devices lacked client-side capabilities.
SSAI is able to guarantee frame-accurate splicing of replacement advertising (different spots for OTT than for broadcast) in a way that is consistent across all devices and works especially well for live content. Delivering creative using just-in-time transcoding and having consistent measurement across all platforms still poses challenges. 与视频工作流程的许多其他部分一样, there are no consistent standards, so developing a method that works involves solving all of the issues our group of experts addresses below.
The SSAI Formula
That familiar pause we previously experienced when an ad was loading could break down a viewer’s commitment to continue watching. “There’s no question that offering a quality viewing session is one of the biggest priorities within the streaming realm. We conducted a survey showing that 86% of viewers say it is very or extremely important to experience TV-like quality every time they watch,” says Ariff Sidi, chief product officer, Verizon Digital Media Services. “The average viewing session across all devices falls by 77 percent when there is a significant drop in video quality.”
“The aim is that the SSAI stack should not introduce more than one segment durations’ worth of latency. We’ve been working with Akamai’s Media Services Live to support 2 second segments offering low latency,” says David Springall, CTO, Yospace.
该图说明了一个典型的服务器端广告插入工作流. Image courtesy of Bitmovin.
Fox Goes All-In
对于这种方法能否大规模应用的问题, the answer is, it has for some major sporting events. “我们在SSAI上取得的最大成功是将世界职业棒球大赛(World Series)等大型赛事货币化, the Super Bowl, 以及世界杯的全部64场比赛,” says Joe Friend, VP ad technology systems, Fox Networks Group. According to a FreeWheel press release, 在2017年的超级碗比赛中首次直播, Fox supported custom digital ad insertion for 135 participating affiliates and were able to place local advertisements within the national stream for the first time ever, 向附属机构开放他们的数字日程安排和收入. 对于2018年的超级碗，他们做得更大.
弗兰德说:“2018年，我们从有限的SSAI发展到将整个平台转移到SSAI. “We rearchitected the app platform code base and went from pushing only tent-pole events through an SSAI architecture—like the Super Bowl last year—to going all in. 这包括福克斯体育、福克斯广播公司、FX网络和国家地理.” Fox has six business units, 每个都支持多达20个不同的桌面平台, mobile, tablet, and connected devices. “When we maintain all this stuff, it’s easier to maintain a server-side architecture than a client-side architecture from the end user standpoint.” More on Fox later.
Getting It Right Down Under
“在我们最重要的节目期间，我们在Seven的广播流媒体上运行SSAI, as well as events like the Winter Olympics, the Australian Open, the Commonwealth Games, 皇家婚礼和最近的墨尔本杯, 将最高并发用户拉到澳大利亚流的事件,” says Jeremy Brown, solutions architect, video and advertising, at the Australian broadcaster Seven West Media.
“Planning for scale needs to go past your SSAI provider as there are many parts to delivering ads—fetching, stitching, and finally tracking. Both the fetching and tracking steps go out to many third-party ad suppliers who also need to support the impact spikes in traffic will have on their infrastructure and campaign pacing,” says Brown. “SSAI providers will have features like pre-fetch to allow pacing number of requests per second to third parties.”
One such provider is Yospace. [RTL Group acquired Yospace on Jan. 9, 2019. —Ed.“实现规模的挑战并不在于SSAI本身, but to the responsiveness of the ad servers when they are resolving multiple first and third-party programmatic decisions per user, per ad break,” says Yospace CEO Tim Sewell. “Yospace has done a lot of work on allowing the ad server the time it needs to respond in order to achieve the highest possible fill-rate by making the ad decision requests ahead of time, something we call ‘prefetch.广告电话可以从上一个广告时段开始, 还准备了应急休息，以应对任何意外情况, as happens regularly with live events.”
“The Australian Open broke new ground in SSAI due to OTT-only channels being deployed and monetized for all 16 courts. Yospace(自2017年1月起成为Seven West的供应商)反馈了实时遥测数据, 允许Seven在任何给定时间根据任何比赛的受欢迎程度投放广告,” says Brown.
自2014年以来，Seven West一直在使用SSAI来处理来自多个提供商的视频点播和直播. 布朗说:“7plus (Seven West的OTT服务)在所有直播流媒体和超过60%的视频点播中使用SSAI. What’s made a difference? “Event planning and communication with third-party ad suppliers in advance of a large event can go a long way to improve revenue.”
FuboTV Also Kicks the SSAI Can
“We want to deliver a TV-like experience, so we work to ensure the advertising experience is on par with that viewers get on other distribution systems such as cable, satellite and OTA,FuboTV首席技术官Geir Magnusson说, Jr. 富博视自己为付费电视的替代产品, 为观看实时线性馈送的观众提供正确的用户体验至关重要.
FuboTV is especially interested in providing personalization within both its content and its advertising. “FuboTV launched SSAI in 2018 (for linear content; VOD is still client side),” Magnusson says. “Because of our strong first-party relationship with our viewers and our control of the ad selection and presentation, 我们有巨大的机会进行准确的用户细分和定位.” Is it working? In a word, yes. “We see our revenue growing monthly, and when things are working correctly, 这是一个非常好的、没有争议的用户体验.”
“I’d say, in general, SSAI is becoming a little easier to do,” Magnusson says, in part due to more and more contribution feeds supporting the needed cue signaling as well as improvements in the ad-serving technology and the buying ecosystem. “所有这些都变得更加舒适和兼容SSAI方法.” Let’s unpack this a bit.
富博电视于2018年推出了线性内容SSAI, 部分原因是为了提供更加个性化和“无争议”的用户体验, according to CTO Geir Magnusson, Jr.
Manifest Destiny
“Our platform is responsible for the one-to-one interaction with the ad server and programmatic platforms on behalf of each user,” Sewell says. 自2011年以来，Yospace 100%的业务都是SSAI. 公司为整个工作流程提供服务, 从AD编码到信号和显性条件反射.
“For some customers, 我们协助自动化信号和相关的流调节, but for customers who have already solved integrating SCTE [Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers] 35 signaling into their encoding workflow, 我们实际上是从他们的打包器中获取输出,” says Sewell. “From that point on, we are responsible for managing the manifest manipulation and delivery so that we can deliver a completely personalized experience for each user. 在某些方面，我们类似于CDN，但对于清单文件启用个性化."
Attribution
“Some SSAI vendors, such as Brightcove, 提供一种使用SSAI流进行客户端测量的方法, 因此，测量和客户端一样精确. However, 它只适用于支持运行客户端sdk的设备, which isn’t always an option,” says Andrew Broadstone, director of product management, Brightcove.
“In other cases, highly accurate ad measurement is still possible by beaconing when video segments corresponding to ads are requested. It’s important to note that some of the most valuable viewing inventory—big-screen TVs in the family home, for example—are among the devices that cannot execute JavaScript and therefore must beacon through a server-side intermediary.”
Beacons
Once the ad plays, 玩家将信号发送回广告决策软件或第三方分析工具. “衡量广告印象的工具没有任何标准, but there’s always something that’s used,” says Igor Oreper, vice president, solutions at Bitmovin.
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