As digital-first platforms begin to embrace live content, the programmatic infrastructure must mature to meet the increasing demands.
Unlike pre-recorded content, where ad breaks and viewership can be accurately anticipated, live events are subject to sudden shifts in audience numbers. For programmatic advertising, that appears to require new industry standards and tools to handle the load.
Traffic can experience dramatic spikes, complicating the process of placing ad breaks effectively. The ability to foresee when and for how long to run ad spots remains elusive, presenting a problem for advertisers aiming to maximize their reach.
This calls for a modernization of programmatic infrastructure to handle live content, said Hillary Slattery, senior director of programmatic product, IAB Tech Lab, in this video interview with Beet.TV.
Tech Lab’s approach to evolving industry needs
IAB Tech Lab is working on several initiatives to enhance programmatic practices, including the “Ad Format Idol” initiative launched in October 2024, aimed at standardizing emerging CTV ad formats. This initiative aims to define common ad formats in CTV environments, facilitating efficient programmatic transactions and broader industry adoption.
“For live events specifically, though, I’m working with a group of industry experts that are not part of Tech Lab’s sort of traditional constituency that I’m over the moon to have here to be able to speak to and learn from,” Slattery said. These experts are helping to develop a near real-time viewership API, designed to provide a better understanding of audience numbers before initiating the auction process.
She added: “Standards around how to actually ask that question and then better describe that inventory are going to be the foundation and the building block for being able to do this successfully.”
Anticipating growth in programmatic live events
As digital-first platforms begin to embrace live content, the programmatic infrastructure must mature to meet the increasing demands. US programmatic digital display advertising spending is projected to approach $180 billion by 2025, according to eMarketer.
“You’re seeing digital-first players really start to drink the Kool-Aid of the incumbents that have, this has been part and parcel of their business for forever,” Slattery added. This shift necessitates improved infrastructure to ensure reliable ad delivery.
With more media investment moving into programmatic pipes, enhanced interoperability and standards will become crucial, as she put it: “Standing up the infrastructure and the standards to create the interoperability that’s going to be necessary for this is, I think, where a huge focus for Tech Lab and for me, personally, in 2025.”
You’re watching Beet.TV coverage from Programmatic Activation Summit 2025, presented by FreeWheel. For more videos from this series, please visit this page .
