Learn Guide 12
In-content CTV formats
Some streaming ads do not wait for the ad break. They sit alongside the programme, on the same screen, while it keeps playing.
What in-content means
A standard CTV ad runs in a break: the programme stops, the ads play, the programme resumes. An in-content format shares the screen with the programme instead. The viewer keeps watching, and the brand appears beside the content rather than in place of it.
The formats
| Format | What the viewer sees | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| L-band | The programme shrinks into a corner; the brand fills an L-shaped band along two edges | Awareness beside premium content, sports and news |
| Overlay | A banner or logo over part of the picture, the programme at full size | Sponsorship, a short message, a prompt to act |
| Squeezeback | The programme is squeezed aside for a few seconds while the ad plays next to it, often at the end of a programme | Credits and transitions, where viewers would otherwise leave |
| Picture in picture | The ad plays in a window while the programme continues, or the reverse | Live events, long breaks |
| Pause ad | A full-screen brand image when the viewer presses pause | A moment of attention the viewer chose |
Some formats add a way to act: a QR code to scan, a button on the remote, a link sent to the viewer’s phone. They turn the same placement into a path to a site, an app or a cart.
Why publishers sell them
- New inventory without more breaks. The programme keeps running, so viewers are not pushed away by longer pods.
- A premium price. Supply is limited by the content itself, and the format is hard to skip.
- Sold direct, not in the auction. Most in-content formats are not offered in the bid stream, so they are sold by people, or not at all.
How to package them
A buyer cannot plan what is not described. For each format, say:
- Where it runs: channels, programmes or genres, markets, devices.
- How it is delivered: inserted in the stream on the server side, or rendered by the app or player.
- The creative specs: sizes, safe areas, duration, file types, what can move and what cannot.
- The price: a CPM, or a flat fee per programme, per day or per event.
- What is measured: impressions, view-through, and any brand study you offer.
How to brief them
Name the format in the brief, with the programmes or genres you want next to it and the outcome you measure. Ask for the specs before you produce the creative, and leave time for the publisher to check it.
With agents
A publisher declares each in-content format in its catalogue as a package, with its specs and price. Its selling agent answers briefs that ask for it, within the publisher’s floors, and checks each creative against the specs before anything runs. A buying agent puts the format in the brief and compares the answers line by line, next to standard spots.