Grigoriy Misilyuk
Anna VintsevskaComplete control is often the most reliable way to gain a competitive advantage, and the market of connected TV (CTV) advertising is not an exception. By controlling the supply path for programmatic CTV inventory, publishers make their workflows more manageable and strategies more flexible.
The point is that in 2025, the profitability of CTV publishers is determined not only by content or audiences, but also by the ability to control supply paths. In this article, we will explore the essentials of supply-path control and explain why it has become more relevant than ever.
CTV is not linear TV — and the stakes are higher
To start off, it is important to clarify that the perception of CTV as "TV on the Internet" is fundamentally incorrect. On the contrary, CTV is an inherently programmatic TV. Here are some critical aspects of CTV that are important for a better understanding of our topic:
Unlike linear TV with its dominance of upfront contracts, CTV inventory is often transacted via real-time bidding or programmatic guarantees.
CTV advertising allocates all the traditional elements of the programmatic tech stack, such as bid requests, DSPs, SSPs, ad exchanges, etc.
Precise data analytics, targeting, measurement, and transparency are critical for the success of CTV advertising campaigns.
Because CTV inventory is relatively new, it is constrained. With a tight supply comes fierce competition between demand sources. This drives high CPMs and puts pressure on transparency and margin.
The demand for CTV advertising keeps growing, which is illustrated in the image below.
Source: EMARKETER Forecast
In such conditions, buyers need ad inventory to be served to them with an exceptional focus on quality. They often demand more transparency and accountability without hidden fees, arbitrage, and opaque take rates. As a result, complete control over supply paths becomes vital for CTV publishers that want to stay competitive.
Supply-path transparency as the new currency
Overall, supply-path transparency (SPT) is a notion that refers to how visible and auditable the route an ad request and its monetization take from buyer to publisher is. It is especially relevant to the domain of CTV, known for its long and fragmented supply paths. Specific ad inventory may travel a long path—from a demand-side platform, through one or more supply-side platforms, ad exchanges, and resellers—before it finally reaches the app or ad server. As each node may take a cut, apply a floor, or resell, there is a vast space for complexities and revenue leakage.
Revenue leakage is a pretty common problem in this regard. It arises when the sum of what the buyer pays minus all intermediary take rates (and minus the publisher’s net) is suboptimal. In other words, it refers to the cases where some potential earnings are “lost” in the chain.
For example, IAB Tech Lab’s CTV Programmatic Guide emphasizes the fact that such a problem is very common to many adtech publishers. The guide includes a recommendation to use sellers.json and the OpenRTB SupplyChain object to expose the chain of intermediaries. Such exposure provides companies with a better possibility of gaining control over their supply paths, avoiding revenue leakage.
Revenue leakage: How publishers lose margin
To give you even more clarity over the observed problem, let's explore the most common leakage scenarios in CTV supply chains.
1. Suboptimal floor prices → too-low net CPMs
Publishers often set floor prices at SSPs or exchanges. However, if such a floor is too static relative to market demand, inventory may sell at lower prices than the true market would bear. As a result, the publisher can lose potential revenue before any take rates are considered.
2. Lack of bidstream visibility
Bidstream is the metadata, targeting signals, and contextual attributes sent with each bid request. Without visibility into DSPs or demand sources that respond, as well as their bidding approaches, a publisher cannot optimize floor prices or prune inefficient paths.
3. Arbitrage and reselling chains
In many programmatic chains, inventory passes through multiple SSPs or resellers before it reaches the final DSP. Each such link in the chain is associated with fees. For example, an SSP A sells inventory to an SSP B (reseller), who then offers it to a DSP with a markup. A DSP pays the markup, but the publisher might only receive net of both layers.
Taken together, these leakages can lead to substantial losses. Meanwhile, supply path optimization can lead to a 97% increase in programmatic revenue. Companies that do not implement it just risk missing such a competitive edge.
Why 2025 is the tipping point
Control over supply paths has been relevant to CTV advertising companies for a long time. However, it becomes even more important in 2025. Let's take a look at the key drivers.
Market consolidation among SSPs
One of the key trends in adtech is the growing consolidation of supply-side platforms. Large SSPs often absorb smaller ones, which reduces the number of efficient supply nodes. As a result, the path for ad inventory narrows, which means that publishers who don't have strong ownership over their routes risk being funneled into suboptimal paths.
Brands focus on safety
Transparency that is "close enough" no longer satisfies advertisers and brands. They want greater reliability that brings:
Enhanced brand safety protection
High viewability guarantees
Deal IDs and direct deal constructs rather than open auction
Clear lineage of ad exposure for compliance.
Publishers who can adjust to such requirements can get an immediate competitive edge.
DSP pressure for transparency
Demand-side platforms demand more clarity in supply paths. The point is that such an approach allows them to validate ad quality and justify their clients' ROI. Such platforms often avoid ad inventory delivered via opaque routes. As DSPs participate only in clean paths and often exclude intermediaries that don't validate, control over supply paths proves to be essential to publishers.
CTV inventory is scarce
CTV inventory is genuinely scarce. Therefore, even the difference in yield of a few dollars per thousand impressions can sharply tilt profitability. In such conditions, the ability to control and track each and every part of the inventory and its lifecycle becomes a significant factor for publishers' profitability.
Owning the stack: what changes with a proprietary SSP
One way to ensure complete control over the supply path in the domain of CTV advertising is to develop and adopt a proprietary SSP. Let's explore the key benefits of owning such a platform.
Total auction control
Ownership of an SSP allows publishers to choose buyers, exchanges or SSPs, and requests that can be routed through. Such an approach also allows companies to set prioritization logic. As a result, publishers can avoid inefficient routing decisions that may be peculiar to third-party SSPs.
Experimentation with floor pricing models
With complete control over an SSP, publishers can test varying floor strategies. For example, they can experiment with static floors, dynamic floors, and "smart floors" that are based on historical bid data. Moreover, there are many other possibilities for experimentation that are associated with platform ownership.
Ad-pod orchestration and frequency management
CTV ads are displayed during pods (breaks), which means that publishers need to manage the frequency of such ads, their sequence, and the length of the breaks. Ownership of the SSP lets you establish an intelligent approach to managing pods.
Margin recapture
With complete control over your system, you can efficiently eliminate or reduce third-party SSP margin or hidden fees. This allows you to recapture margin into your own P&L more efficiently. In the long run, this approach to margin recapture can significantly boost your profitability.
Full bidstream visibility and analytics
Your own SSP provides you with access to all necessary data. As a result, you can ensure more efficient analytics for measuring CTV attribution. This helps you eliminate low-performing paths and iterate on improvements.
Practical recommendations for CTV publishers
Here are some practical recommendations that will help you establish control over your supply paths.
1. Audit your existing supply path. You need to map out all platforms and intermediaries that are currently used in your supply path. Make sure to evaluate take rates, fees, floor behavior, and historical response in order to detect and eliminate redundant routes.
2. Pilot internal or A/B floor testing
Experimentation is the key to finding an optimal path. That's why we encourage you to experiment with incremental increases in floor levels. You may try custom floor-optimization algorithms to adapt to demand conditions. It is also critical to monitor the impact on fill rate, latency, and net revenue to tune floors.
3. Measure fill-rates, win-rates, and frequency behavior. By monitoring such parameters, you will efficiently measure which DSPs or paths win frequently and which rarely respond. As a result, you can shut off paths that consume margin but yield little net return.
4. Plan a migration to your own tightly integrated SSP. As has already been mentioned, embracing your own SSP is a viable option for gaining control over your supply paths. We suggest you start with a hybrid approach where you apply a third-party SSP in parallel as you launch your SSP. Also, make sure to use private deals or direct deals through your SSP first before you start to gradually enable open auctions. Other important steps include integrating compliance and reporting tools into your system.
Closing insights
As the CTV market matures, the difference between good and great publishing becomes even bigger. In 2025, gaining complete control over a supply path becomes more important than ever. That's why it is important to transition to a privately owned SSP for CTV advertising. If you delay, you risk being locked into third-party routes whose economics are dictated by others, bleeding margin even as volumes grow. TeqBlaze is ready to help you handle such a transition fast with ourwhite-label SSP offer. Contact us to discuss your needs and see how we can help you!
