A compact, expert‑level glossary designed to clarify the most important monetization concepts found in modern OTT advertising workflows — with a strong focus on SSAI (Server‑Side Ad Insertion), revenue uplift, cost reduction, and operational efficiency.
A
Addressable Advertising
The ability to serve different ads to different viewers watching the same stream, based on demographics, behavioral data, or contextual signals. This eliminates “campaign waste” and boosts CPMs by delivering ads only to relevant audiences.
Ad Decisioning System (ADS)
A system that receives viewer or contextual data and returns which ad should be served for each opportunity. ADS is queried per user during an ad break and must handle high volume, concurrency heavy requests.
Ad Inventory Split
The process of dividing advertising inventory into targeted audience segments rather than selling by “spots” in a spray model. This increases revenue by accommodating more campaigns in the same inventory.
C
CSAI (Client‑Side Ad Insertion)
A method where the video player fetches and inserts ads on the user device. CSAI suffers from buffering, device fragmentation, and ad blockers, making SSAI preferable for premium video.
CPM (Cost Per Mille)
The advertising pricing model based on cost per 1,000 ad impressions. SSAI can generate between $116 and $584 per subscriber per year depending on the region.
Creative QC (Quality Control)
Validation checks performed on ad creatives to detect errors such as missing audio, corrupted files, incorrect durations or encoding mis‑matches before insertion. Automated QC reduces operational overhead.
F
FAST Channels (Free Ad‑Supported Streaming TV)
Linear channels created from VOD libraries and monetized entirely through advertising. FAST is one of the fastest growing revenue segments, expected to reach over $10B in the US by 2027.
First‑Party Data
Viewer data collected directly by the streaming service (e.g., demographics, content consumption, affinities). Critical for targeting, personalization, and CPM uplift, especially in a post‑cookie world.
H
House Ads / Promos
Self promotional ads run by the service provider. Many ADS platforms charge CPM for house ads, which results in unnecessary costs. SSAI platforms should natively schedule and track promos without ADS fees.
L
Low Latency SSAI
SSAI adapted to DASHLL and HLSLL workflows for sports and time sensitive content. Requires fast decisioning and prefetching to avoid losing short window ad insertion opportunities.
M
Manifest Manipulation
The core technique behind SSAI: replacing primary content segments with alternate content segments inside HLS/DASH manifests in real time. Used for ads, VODtoLive, personalization, and more.
Measurement & Beacons
Tracking signals (client‑side & server‑side) used to confirm ad impressions, quartiles, interactions, and viewability. More measurement = higher advertiser trust = higher CPMs.
O
OMID (Open Measurement Interface Definition)
IAB standard enabling consistent, verifiable measurement of viewability and impressions across devices. Essential for premium inventory and revenue uplift.
Operational Load (Ad Ops)
The time and resources required to troubleshoot bad creatives, integration failures, or measurement issues. Advanced SSAI platforms reduce operational load via automation and manage-by-exception workflows.
P
Pre‑Fetch (VAST Decision Pre‑Fetching)
Technique where SSAI requests ad decisions before an ad break, reducing load on ADS, lowering latency, and minimizing missed opportunities.
Pre‑Fetch (Ad Creatives)
Downloading and transcoding all active creatives ahead of time to ensure they are ready at the moment of insertion.
S
Scalability (Elastic SSAI)
The ability for SSAI infrastructure to dynamically scale up to millions of concurrent viewers during events — and scale down afterward to avoid unnecessary cloud costs.
Server-Side Ad Insertion (SSAI)
A technique that stitches ads directly into the video stream server‑side, preventing ad blocking, improving QoE, and unlocking higher CPMs.
SGAI (Server-Guided Ad Insertion)
A hybrid SSAI/CSAI model where servers mark ad breaks but clients fetch and stitch ads. Greatly reduces infrastructure cost — as low as one-eighth of SSAI.
T
Targeting (Audience Based)
Delivering ads to precise audience groups defined by demographics, behavior, location, device, or content affinity. Directly drives CPM uplift.
V
VAST (Video Ad Serving Template)
IAB standard defining ad response formats. Used for decisioning, tracking, and creative metadata. VAST prefetching helps reduce load and cost.
VOD‑to‑Live
Technique turning VOD libraries into 24/7 linear channels via manifest manipulation — enabling new monetizable FAST channels.