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ID check

The key hits:

• Identifiers are gaining broader adoption across streaming services.
• No specific ID is likely to dominate the marketplace.
• OpenAP and FreeWheel are taking steps to make IDs more interoperable.

The identity picture for TV and streaming is coming closer into focus.

Historically, traditional TV and streaming have evaded the third-party cookie problem. Set-top boxes, smart TVs and connected TV devices simply don’t support cookies. And while the IP address has been co-opted by streaming ad buyers and sellers as a cookie-like identifier, the IP address is an unreliable option.

But this year in particular, there has been some notable development in establishing an identity layer for TV and streaming. “We’re certainly seeing the identity concept take shape, and the concept is integral for the actual practical layer to become a thing,” said an agency executive.

• IDs such as Unified ID 2.0, ad tech firm LiveRamp’s Ramp ID and advanced TV and streaming ad outfit OpenAP’s OpenID have increased their level of adoption among streaming services.
• FreeWheel is working to connect various streaming-capable identifiers, including OpenID and Ramp ID, to establish a lingua franca among the IDs.
• Most recently, OpenAP is making its OpenID available for use when advertisers programmatically buy inventory from participating streaming ad sellers — such as top-tier TV networks like Fox, NBCUniversal, Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, which jointly own OpenAP — through supply-side platforms owned by Comcast-owned FreeWheel, Magnite and Microsoft-owned Xandr.

“We’ve made a lot of progress with the individual ID space this year. Like, adoption of [Unified ID 2.0] on CTV from the beginning of the year to the end of the year is massively different,” said Mohammad Chughtai, global head of advanced TV at MiQ, which specializes in managing programmatic buying for advertisers and agencies.

But the sheer adoption of individual IDs will not be as meaningful a measure of progress as the eventual interoperability among these IDs. The industry has come around on accepting that “there’s not going to be one ID solution to rule them all,” said the agency executive. So for TV and streaming’s identity layer to not only take form but come to life, interoperability is a necessity.

“Part of the FreeWheel announcement is interoperability between OpenIDs and FreeWheel IDs. That was really key for both direct campaigns but it’s also really key for this announcement we just did from a programmatic perspective,” said OpenAP CEO David Levy.

Basically, there are two strains of activity underway.

The first is establishing support for individual IDs across the marketplace and to have that support span direct sales and programmatic sales …read more

Source:: Digiday

Author: Aaron