Inventory Management

To start, we will create a property, or the environment your content is shown on. This is the starting point of all inventory creation within Smaato’s Publisher Platform. This can be a mobile app, website (mobile or desktop), CTV App, Smart TV App, or vMVPD. We can do this by creating a new OTT App. First, click New App.

Select “OTT” under App Type. Give your OTT property a name, detailed description, store/site URL (if your OTT property is a Smart TV or a vMVPD that does not have a store/site URL by nature, you can just put in your web domain), and accurate + appropriate category, and click Save.

Next we will create a channel, or the form of content that is shown on your OTT property. Depending on whether your content is offered as video on-demand (VOD) or Live Linear/Addressable (LIVE), you will create a VOD or LIVE channel. This will allow you to delineate among content types in reporting, as well as configure your SSAI integration w/ Smaato, if applicable. To create a new channel, click New Channel (this page also be accessed by clicking on an OTT App, and clicking on “Edit Settings”):

Give your channel a name, and “hls-vod” for the type. Click Save:

Optionally, you can utilize Smaato’s Server-side Ad Insertion (also called Dynamic Ad Insertion) product to have us stitch in ads directly into your HLS video streams. This is recommended, as it can improve your end-users’ viewing experience. With SSAI, the ads stitched in will match the quality of the viewer’s stream and connection quality, with zero buffering and a fluid content-to-ads-to-content experience just like you’d see on TV. You can toggle this feature on or off using the “Enable SSAI” check box (see image above):

Give your channel a name, and “hls-live” for the type. Click Save:

Optionally, you can utilize Smaato’s Server-side Ad Insertion (also called Dynamic Ad Insertion) product to have us stitch in ads directly into your HLS video streams. This is recommended, as it can improve your end-users’ viewing experience by having ads stitched that match the quality of the viewer’s stream and connection quality, with zero buffering and a fluid content-to-ads-to-content experience just like you’d see on TV. You can toggle this feature on or off using the “Enable SSAI” check box (see image above):

After you create your channel, you’ll notice an “Assets” tab on the “Edit Settings” screen:

Next we will create an “ad pod,” or group of commercials that will play back-to-back in a commercial break during your channel’s content. You as the publisher have total control over how you want the pod constructed, as well as how DSPs can bid on it. A default ad pod is created when you create a VOD channel which you can customize. Or, you can also create your own pods. To do so, go to the “Ad Pods” tab and click New Ad Pod:

Give your ad pod a name, max. pod duration (total length in seconds of the commercial break), type (dynamic if you want Smaato to just fill your max. pod duration with as many ads as possible, manual if you want to build it slot-by-slot and have a certain number of commercials), min. and max. ad duration (minimum and maximum duration of commercials in seconds, if dynamic ad pod type selected), auction type (per-pod if you want the whole pod sent to demand sources, per-slot if you want each individual slot sent to demand sources), and ad buffets (if you want “backup ads”):

If you chose manual ad pod type, you can click Next and proceed to define min. and max. ad duration, whether fill is required, whether the slot supports companion ads, and whether the slot should be skippable. Then click Done:

Next we will assign that ad pod to play in a pre-roll, mid-roll(s), and/or post-roll ad break. You can even schedule when you want that mid-rolls to occur within your channel’s content. This is done using a Playlist (one is created by default when you create a VOD channel). Playlist defines when you want ad breaks to play in your channel’s content. We can do this by clicking on the Playlists tab and then by clicking the edit icon next to the default playlist:

Give your playlist a name, click Next:

Give your pre-roll ad break a name, define what ad pod you want played during that ad break, define the creative type for that ad break (linear plays a fullscreen commercial while non-linear shows a banner overlay on top of video content). Then, click Next:

Create as many mid-roll ad breaks as you’d like, by clicking Add Mid-Roll:

Give each mid-roll ad break a name, offset type (how you want them scheduled – Timestamp, Percentage, Interval), offset value (when you want them scheduled and at what interval if applicable), define what ad pod you want played during that ad break, define the creative type for that ad break (linear plays a fullscreen commercial while non-linear shows a banner overlay on top of video content), and click Save Mid-Roll, then click Next:

Give your post-roll ad break a name, define what ad pod you want played during that ad break, define the creative type for that ad break (linear plays a fullscreen commercial while non-linear shows a banner overlay on top of video content), and click Save Playlist: