SpotX

Pub tech SaaS startup Swivel wants to make ad ops much less manual and time-consuming with an AI-driven yield optimization tool designed by people who used to build ad servers.

Investor, industry veteran and former SpotX CEO Mike Shehan returns from the ad tech sidelines to join the C-suite at Telly, a startup that gives away free TVs in exchange for viewer data.

Disintermediation is in the air. If The Trade Desk’s OpenPath cuts out SSPs (while claiming not to), Magnite’s ClearLine cuts out DSPs (while claiming not to).

The Trade Desk recently made waves with the rollout of OpenPath, its direct-to-publisher offering, and its plan to turn off Google Open Bidding, a one-two punch in supply path optimization (SPO). Both of these SPO moves could reshuffle the ad buying ecosystem, making publishers less reliant on SSPs and cutting off a revenue source for Google’s Open Bidding.

Google Ad Manager is still the dominant supply-side platform – but the race for second place is tighter than ever. Forty-six percent of publishers say they use Amazon Publisher Services, Amazon’s supply-side platform, according to Advertiser Perceptions’ SSP report for the second half of 2021, which was enough for Amazon to maintain its grip on the No. 2 spot.

Magnite acquired connected TV ad server SpringServe in July for $31 million as part of its ongoing ambition to go big in CTV. But SpringServe continues to operate largely independently, and that’s by design, said Joe Hirsch, general manager of SpringServe.

Sell-side platform Magnite acquired connected TV ad server SpringServe Thursday for $31 million, in a deal that will improve its access to all of a publisher’s CTV inventory. SpringServe’s video clients include Vizio, Univision, Tastemade and Pluto TV. SpringServe and Magnite work with many of the same clients, the company said. While SpotX (the video […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Taboola Roll Call Taboola began trading on the Nasdaq on Wednesday. It raised more than $500 million with the IPO, and reported a net income of $18 million on total revenue of $303 million in Q1, CNBC reports. “I think of Taboola as a […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Staff Cuts Magnite is laying off about 6% of its staff following its $1.17 billion acquisition deal with video supply-side platform SpotX, Adweek reports. Buying SpotX is part of Magnite’s CTV growth plan, after already taking on Telaria. Though the acquisition nearly doubled […]

Magnite is shaking up its leadership team following the late April approval of its $1.17 billion acquisition of SpotX. On Wednesday, Magnite announced that Tom Kershaw, the company’s chief technology officer (CTO) for the past four years, will leave Magnite to pursue an opportunity outside of ad tech. Kershaw will also step down as chair […]