AVOD services have become a key way for content creators to monetize their videos over the last decade. With high CPM’s, viewability and completion rates, instream ads have been the desired format for both buyers and sellers in the digital ad ecosystem for quite some time now.

In a constantly changing marketplace, it’s natural that the techniques for instream advertising are also evolving and improving along the way. A key recent trend is towards more TV-like ad experiences for online viewers, creating additional monetization opportunities.

To help get the most out of instream advertising and get the timing for ads just right, there’s a new feature available in the Online Video Platform: Ad Schedules. These schedules allow the most efficient and effective set-up for instream ads, ​​with implementation having an immediate impact on revenues.

What is an ad schedule?

An ad schedule allows users to insert ads into video content on a certain schedule, with a set interval between every ad break. For example, the interval is set to five minutes, meaning there will be an ad break at the five minute mark, the ten minute mark and so on, until the video ends.

An ad break can consist of only one ad or a set of ads. Once an ad break contains multiple ads, it automatically turns into an “ad pod”. This pod groups the ads together and plays them back to back. It’s also possible to specify whether viewers are allowed to skip ads or not.

Ad Schedules example

What are the benefits of using an ad schedule?

Ad Schedules help automate the set-up for instream advertising and it’s possible to create multiple schedules for different use cases. For example, various schedules for videos with different lengths, subjects or for different pages.

Users can check the performance of schedules in the platform, giving information on what frequency and amount of ads during breaks work. This gives room to experiment to find the schedule that audiences respond to best. For example, when there’s a better response to shorter intervals between ads or to multiple ads during each break, users can use this information to optimize your ad strategy.

To get started with Ad Schedules, head over to Ad services in the platform and click on the tab “Ad schedules” or contact us to set up a demo.