#ssps

#ssps

Supply-side ad tech platforms - call them SSPs, ad exchanges or whatever - are at an interesting inflection point. The whole category has been under Google's thumb for years. But Google's pub-side tech was declared an illegal monopoly, and there's a sense that, perhaps, newcomers have a chance to grow. There are also interesting strategic acquisitions potentially in the offing. Airlines, credit card companies and other data-rich businesses are entering advertising and data sales, making an SSP an enticing addition.

Put another way, SSPs are being cut out of deals as much as possible in the interest of supply-path optimization - which means more demand is flowing through OpenPath, TTD's direct connection to publishers. Oh, and TTD gets more revenue in the long run. But should all SSPs really be classified as resellers? Under the IAB's ads.txt spec , publishers can declare SSPs as either direct or indirect sellers of their ad inventory. And if the SSP is authorized as a direct seller in ads.txt, then it "is indeed a direct supply chain," according to Jounce . But a recent update to TTD's partner portal says: "We consider SSPs to be intermediaries because they are not a direct path to inventory." That's why, when a publisher sells inventory through an SSP and OpenPath, TTD's Kokai platform penalizes the SSP path and prioritizes OpenPath . TTD defends this approach by noting some SSPs take exorbitant cuts of publisher revenue and claiming that OpenPath funnels more money to pubs. But one anonymous source tells Digiday they've seen publisher payouts drop 50% as TTD directs more spend to OpenPath.