Best Practices in CTV | Monetize OTT Apps, Platform/Partner/Networks

Doug Bishop

March 13th, 2025

When it comes to CTV advertising, many decide to use GAM (Google Ad Manager) as a resource. However, this is one instance where GAM is not always the right solution. In CTV, there are many other options such as Publica, Springserve, Spotx and Beachfront. With these ad servers, you can get competition into your ad stack similar to Header Bidding, but built for video inventory – and at much higher CPMs.

Using these ad servers, you can easily connect to most of the networks focused on specific CTV demand; Xandr, Triplelift, Spot X, and Open X to name a few.   Even if you have previous relationships with these networks, in most cases you must connect specific demand channels focused on CTV advertising.

The other big piece here is connecting the data flow between your CTV apps and the Ad Networks. In the display world, there is the cookie that allows all networks to bid on your viewership, but none of this exists in a Connected TV Environment.   Without the proper setup of Macros, Channel information, Content Topic and app-ads.txt – you will not receive any bids on your inventory.   One common symptom of this is extremely low fill rates in the 2%-10% range.  

CPM rates in CTV are much higher than in standard IAB display.   It does still depend on your viewership but earnings of $6 to $10 for programmatic video ads are commonplace. The below graph outlines some earning estimates for your reference:

Controls						Gross		NET To Publisher (60%)
Outstream	Low	High		Scenario	Ad Requests	Revenue Low	Revenue High	Revenue Low	Revenue High
CPM	$5.00	$10.00		#1	500	$0.75	$3.50	$0.45	$2.10
Fill Rate	30.00%	70.00%		#2	1,000	$1.50	$7.00	$0.90	$4.20
				#3	2,000	$3.00	$14.00	$1.80	$8.40
				#4	5,000	$7.50	$35.00	$4.50	$21.00
				#5	10,000	$15.00	$70.00	$9.00	$42.00
				#6	25,000	$37.50	$175.00	$22.50	$105.00
				#7	50,000	$75.00	$350.00	$45.00	$210.00
				#8	100,000	$150.00	$700.00	$90.00	$420.00
				#9	200,000	$300.00	$1,400.00	$180.00	$840.00
				#10	500,000	$750.00	$3,500.00	$450.00	$2,100.00
				#11	1,000,000	$1,500.00	$7,000.00	$900.00	$4,200.00
				#12	2,000,000	$3,000.00	$14,000.00	$1,800.00	$8,400.00
				#13	5,000,000	$7,500.00	$35,000.00	$4,500.00	$21,000.00
				#14	10,000,000	$15,000.00	$70,000.00	$9,000.00	$42,000.00

Some other things to keep in mind:

• Appads.txt
  • Just like in display, this is important to secure your inventory.

• Specific video servers (as mentioned above) allow us to easily pass macros.
  • The more macros we have, the better the revenue will be.
  • Examples of macros include a content episode, app store URL, content title, bundle ID, etc.

• Editors must be conscious of their inventory.
  • If you have a small inventory, it will be hard to monetize.
  • We suggest growing a large audience before considering monetization.

• Data must be passed between your CTV App and your CTV-focused Networks.

We also have a pre-packaged solution if you’re looking for a simple way to get revenue from your channel, where we bake the Ad Serving, Data Flow, Network Relationships, Yield Optimization, Ad Server Costs, app-ads.txt Management and everything else into one easy-to-use piece of software.   You handle the content, we’ll help you get the revenue you deserve for it.  

Do you have any technical questions about monetizing your CTV channel? Feel free to send us an email at [email protected]! We are always happy to help to guide you in the right direction.