Get started with advertising in Wowza Video

Wowza Video enables you to monetize your video content through advertising. By partnering with an ad network or ad server, you can integrate ads into your videos using client-side ad insertion (CSAI) or server-side ad insertion (SSAI). Both methods help you track impressions and optimize revenue, but they operate differently. 

Note: You’ll need an ad server or ad network partner for either method of advertising. Examples of ad partners are Google (Ad Manager / DFP), SpotXchange, and SpringServe.

Client-side ad insertion (CSAI) 

Client-side ad insertion (CSAI) is an ad insertion model where ads are inserted into the content stream during playback on the client side which could be a browser or an app on a viewer's device. The ad placement is pre-defined in client-side ad insertion and could be before the content (pre-roll), during the content (mid-roll), or after the content (post-roll) plays. When a viewer clicks play, the player requests the content and also triggers the ad server to send ad content for the appropriate placement within the content.

To set up client-side ad insertion in Wowza Video, you’ll create a VAST ad schedule. 

The following steps are involved in setting up client-side ad insertion in Wowza Video: 

1. Upload a video or create a live stream. 
2. Create an ad tag – You receive ad tags (URLs to VAST (XML) documents) from your ad partner, detailing which ads to play, their formats, tracking events, and click-through links. 
3. Create an ad schedule – Create a VAST ad schedule in Wowza Video, specifying when ads should play (pre-roll, mid-roll, post-roll). 
4. Create a player configuration – Create a new player configuration and attach your ad schedule to the player configuration.
5. Share a video or stream with your viewers.

Advantages of CSAI

• Provides more personalized ad content since insertion happens at the viewer’s player. 
• Accessible for content publishers of any scale. 
• Monetizes based on clicks, views, and ad impressions. 
• Provides flexible ad scheduling options (pre-roll, mid-roll, and post-roll).

Limitations of CSAI

• Susceptible to ad blockers, which can affect ad revenue.

Server-side ad insertion (SSAI) 

Server-side ad insertion (SSAI) is an ad insertion model where ads are inserted into a content stream on the server side before they reach the client's device. Unlike in CSAI, the ads and content are delivered as a single stream which eliminates the pre-loading time the ads take to play on a viewer's device. When a viewer clicks play, the content and ads are requested by the player and combined into a single encoded stream, which makes SSAI the choice for a better viewing experience. Since SSAI minimizes ad blockers because there’s no differentiation between the content and the ads in the single stream, you can monetize your content more effectively with ad impressions and complete rates.  

To use SSAI in Wowza Video, you’ll either create an SSAI ad schedule or create a Google Ad Manager dynamic ad insertion ad schedule. To create an ad schedule using Google DAI, you'll need to be a Google premium publisher with access to Google Ad Manager 360. You can configure SSAI ad schedules to include pre-roll, mid-roll, and post-roll ads for your videos. With Google DAI ad schedules, you can add pre-roll and mid-roll ads for your videos.

Note: The SSAI ad schedule feature is currently offered under limited availability, meaning the functionality is available to select Wowza Video users. If you need this functionality, please email us at customerservice@wowza.com.

The following steps are involved in setting up server-side ad insertion with Google Ad Manager DAI in Wowza Video:

1. Upload a video. 

   Note: SSAI and DAI ad schedules are currently only available for video content, not live streams.

2. Contact Wowza support to enable DAI for your account. 
3. Configure Google Ad Manager – Includes creating ad tags, setting up content source, and an optional authentication key. 
4. Create a DAI ad schedule – Create an ad schedule in Wowza Video, where ads are selected dynamically by Google Ad Manager. 
5. Create a player configuration – Create a new player configuration and attach your ad schedule to the player configuration.
6. Share the video with your viewers. 

The following steps are involved in setting up server-side ad insertion with Server-side ad insertion ad schedule in Wowza Video:

1. Upload a video and set ad positions.
2. Create an ad tag – You receive ad tags (URLs to VAST (XML) documents) from your ad partner, detailing which ads to play, their formats, tracking events, and click-through links. 
3. Create an SSAI ad schedule – Create an SSAI ad schedule in Wowza Video, where ads are inserted in the specified ad insertion points that are added to a video.
4. Create a player configuration – Create a new player configuration and attach your ad schedule to the player configuration.
5. Share a video or stream with your viewers.

Advantages of SSAI

• Provides a seamless viewing experience. 
• Minimizes ad blockers for more effective monetization. 
• Ensures ads and content are delivered as a single stream. 
• Provides the opportunity to personalize ads per viewer.
• Provides flexible ad scheduling options (pre-roll and mid-roll).

Limitations of SSAI

• Requires access to Google Ad Manager 360 if you select Google DAI ad schedule.

We support all current VAST advertising standards across the web and you can review our list of supported formats for additional details.