As OTT content and CTVs gain popularity, publishers are looking to profit from this expanding market through ad monetization.
While this might sound like a simple task, OTT monetization is in a different league than website and mobile app monetization. The reason for this is because the technology is difficult to implement and the top ad servers are not available to everyone.
That’s the bad news.
The good news is that monetizing your OTT content is easier than you think, and we’re going to explain why.
Let’s begin my making sure that we’re on the same page with the OTT terminology.
Difference Between OTT and CTV
OTT (over-the-top) and CTV (Connected TV) are two terms that are frequently used interchangeably. However, they represent two distinct yet interconnected platforms.
OTT
OTT is a streaming service that offers content over the internet, bypassing traditional cable and satellite TV platforms.
Examples of OTT services are Netflix, Disney+, and Hulu. To access OTT services, all you need is internet connection (and in these cases, a subscription)
CTV
CTV, on the other hand, refers to the hardware or device that supports streaming videos over the internet.
CTVs can be any smart TV or streaming device like Roku, Apple TV, and Fire TV. Essentially, CTVs are the devices that allow you to watch OTT content on your TV.
Types of OTT Monetization
There are four primary models you can use to monetize OTT content: AVOD, SVOD, TVOD, and hybrid.
When discussing ad revenue, we are referring to the AVOD (Advertising-Based Video on Demand) model, which is the preferred choice for most OTT publishers.
The other OTT monetization models don’t involve ads, which is why they are a topic for another post. You can
Benefits of OTT Ads for Publishers
The popularity of OTT content has surged in the past few years, making it the fastest growing video advertising platform.
Today, there are nearly two billion people worldwide using OTT services, with the number expected to increase to 2.15 billion in 2025.
Advertisers are correctly identifying OTT as the future of video advertising, and are therefore funneling their advertising budgets to these platforms.
This makes OTT content the ideal medium for publishers to generate revenue.
Why OTT Monetization Is Challenging for Publishers
OTT is a relatively new technology, and with new innovation comes hurdles.
As an OTT publisher, maximizing your ad revenue is challenging due to technological demands as well as limited access to ad servers.
One major hurdle is that the vast majority of OTT publishers don’t have access to Google’s video ads, as Google has only given its CTV/OTT monetization license to a limited number of companies.
Since Google is the largest advertising exchange, the lack of access to their ads results in reduced competition and lower ad revenue.
Benefits of Working with Adnimation
Adnimation is among the select few companies in the world that was granted Google’s product to monetize OTT content and CTV apps.
This license allows our team to utilize Programmatic Access Libraries (PAL), which are lightweight Software Development Kits (SDKs) that offer discrete access to targeting signals for programmatic ads in Google Ad Manager.
In other words, our technology and Google’s license enable OTT publishers who partner with us to display highly valued video ads from Google. (You can read a case study here)
This provides our partnering publishers with a significant advantage in generating competition among advertisers for their video ad inventory.
Contact us to learn more how we can assist you to increase your OTT ad revenue.
