IAB Tech Lab Updates OpenRTB to Define Live Content in Programmatic Advertising

IAB Tech Lab Rolls Out OpenRTB Updates for Live Content

IAB Tech Lab announced updates to OpenRTB to address the growing need to define live content in programmatic advertising, including new attributes for describing live content and revisions to substitution macros for pricing communication, with these changes open for public comment through late May. According to MarTech, the updates add two optional fields and clarify an existing one in OpenRTB and AdCOM to help sellers describe the 'liveness' of content more accurately in bid requests.

Defining Live Content in Programmatic Channels

The new fields allow buyers to differentiate between content that occurs at the exact moment of the bid, real-time streams that are not strictly live, and content in its first scheduled broadcast window, as live and near-live content increasingly enters programmatic channels. These distinctions enable buyers to prioritize spending based on the type of content, such as a live sports event versus a same-day stream or a scheduled premiere, according to MarTech. The updates aim to reduce ambiguity in the bidstream, where standardized signals for live content have previously been lacking.

Refinements to Pricing and Substitution Macros

Alongside the content attributes, IAB Tech Lab is updating substitution macros to improve how price-related data, including discounts and net pricing, flows between buyers and sellers in the bidstream. This change provides buyers with a clearer view of actual pricing adjustments, helping to reduce friction in transactions by combining better content signals with enhanced pricing clarity. As programmatic environments grow more complex with the expansion of CTV and live-event inventory, these refinements address how timing affects inventory valuation, according to MarTech.

Industry Context and Next Steps

The updates come from IAB Tech Lab’s Programmatic Supply Chain working group and build on initiatives like the Live Event Ad Playbook, which have emphasized the need for stronger standards amid the rise of live sports and streaming events in programmatic advertising. Widely known in ad tech, programmatic advertising has evolved rapidly with CTV growth, making precise definitions crucial for valuing inventory. The public comment period for these specifications runs through May 28, allowing industry feedback before finalization.