State of Streaming's Tim Rowe Compares Trade Desk's OpenTTD with FirstPartyCapital's Model

Two ad tech announcements, six hours apart, same day, neither company knew. The Trade Desk launched OpenTTD, a unified intelligence layer for advertisers, while its stock sits 80% off its all-time high. FirstPartyCapital unveiled a corporate innovation model packaging Lumen Research, LightBox TV, and Bedrock Platform into a structured alternative for companies that can't build their own infrastructure. Meanwhile, Amazon's ad business grew 22% last quarter to $21.3B, discounting DSP fees to 1% to poach agencies. Read about it in State of Streaming 📺 [article linked below]

Thanks for the mention, Tim Rowe. Bedrock Platform’s mission is to provide agencies and brands with the control and transparency they seek, while removing the complexity and challenges associated with legacy programmatic. Our flexible, open architecture is designed to simplify how premium programmatic deals are discovered, managed, activated, and scaled across multiple SSPs, publishers, and curated marketplaces. Built on this foundation is Pathfinder, our multi-agent system. Pathfinder seamlessly orchestrates these components, bringing fragmented premium supply into a single activation workflow. This provides more media buying control and agility, and helps you to find only the most effective and efficient paths to your audience. We're pleased to be working alongside FirstPartyCapital, and its wider portfolio, to provide alternative solutions that make programmatic more accessible and more effective for a new generation of media buyers. Automated efficiency. Independent control. Better outcomes. Click the link in the comments to learn more about our open, transparent system.

Smartly Announces Amazon DSP Integration Why this matters: - As nearly 70% of marketers plan to increase CTV budgets, unified workflows help eliminate creative bottlenecks and give real-time cross-channel performance visibility across social and CTV campaigns. - This integration lets brands streamline activation, optimisation and measurement from a single platform and reallocate budgets based on outcomes across funnels. Our take: This represents an opportunity for advertisers to combine social, programmatic and streaming media execution with AI creative optimization in one workflow. What do you think? With CTV spending rising, will more brands demand unified campaign management vs separate tools? Erin McGee Melissa Yang Read More:- https://lnkd.in/dqmg6aRZ #martech #mtc #martechcube #Smartly #Amazon #DSP #AdTech #AI #Campaign #DigitalAdvertising #StreamingAds

While the giants fight over "hidden fees" and direct-path control, a much larger issue is being overlooked: The Operational Gap. In their latest 2026 outlook, IAB Europe highlights that market fragmentation is the #1 barrier to CTV growth. Their conclusion? Success now depends on Curation and Managed Performance. This is exactly where Fomo Connect steps in. We don't just provide a "pipe" or an "introduction." We are the independent Operational Layer that ensures: ✅ Managed Seats: We operate the complex business logic of direct integrations. ✅ Vetted Inventory: We enforce strict Quality, Performance, and Transparency (QPT) standards that buyers demand. ✅ Neutrality: We bridge the gap between agencies and platforms, keeping the revenue flowing regardless of industry infighting. As the IAB notes, the shift from "impressions" to "outcomes" is here. If you aren't actively operating your monetization, you're leaving money on the table. https://lnkd.in/ex6uqQBx #AdTech2026 #CTV #FomoConnect #Programmatic #AdOps #Optimization

📺✨ CTV is booming… but are we really using it right? Spoiler: it’s not just about inventory anymore, it’s about SIGNALS 👀 Alberto Arkones Pelaz, our Supply Account Manager, broke down why content signals are becoming the real game-changer in CTV, helping advertisers understand what they’re buying, where it appears, and how it performs 🙌 Because better signals = ✅ more transparency ✅ stronger demand ✅ and ultimately… better revenue 💸 🤑 If you’re working in CTV, this is one of those topics you don’t want to overlook. Check out the full article to learn more 👉 https://lnkd.in/ed4xkpW4 And if you’re thinking about taking your CTV strategy a step further… we’d be happy to help you boost your CTV journey with Tappx 🚀 #CTV #ConnectedTV #AdTech #Programmatic #SupplySide #DigitalAdvertising #Tappx

On the surface, The Trade Desk's CTV struggles seem strange. With ad spend projected to hit $51B by 2029, TTD, as a major inventory aggregator, should be winning. Even with decades of advertiser partnerships on its side, in Q4, TTD posted 14% growth while Amazon hit 23%. I got curious to understand what's driving this gap. I think Sarah Caputo hit the nail on the head in her AdExchanger article. Sarah argues that TTD built its moat around opaque fees buried in CPMs and algorithmic steering toward high-margin inventory. Amazon countered TTD's opacity with a clearer pitch: first-party data at scale and authenticated reach across Prime Video and Fire TV. It's no surprise that, in the era of SPO and cost-cutting, transparency won. As for TTD, I think one fix would be to disclose margins as separate line items instead of burying them in CPMs. As advertisers become more AI-literate, they're getting better at spotting suspicious fees - when they do, they switch to the partner who offers the cleaner deal. Right now, that's Amazon.

NEW RESEARCH OUT: When DSPs and SSPs Converge - The rise of Unified Advertising Platforms and the Reshaping of the Programmatic Supply Chain Companies covered: Amazon (Amazon Advertising), Cox Media Group, Disney, Equative, Google, GroupM, Magnite, Martin, Meta Platforms, Netflix, PubMatic, SpotX, SpringServe, Streamr.ai, The Trade Desk (TTD), Vizio, Yahoo. LEARN MORE about the DSP/SSP convergence and its consequences for buyers, publishers and vendors HERE: https://lnkd.in/guraFecx

The Media Leader UK #CTVWS Alles auf Joyn as a driver for digital growth Moderator: Maria Rua Aguete, Omdia Nicole Agudo Berbel, Seven.One Entertainment Group Content windows drive traffic back to main content from YouTube. Joyn is ad-funded. Some subscription. But model works well with a YouTube. Do co-productions with Amazon Prine video. Align on European level. Can negotiate collaboratively and partner exchange. Already have a range of partnerships.Very open to partnerships with entertainment companies with clear track record. Germany has as its essence a free TV market so advertising is key. Faster internet so cable and satellite still dominant, but OTT making up ground. Amazon Prime and Netflix SVOD are big. 2.4 subscriptions on average per household. Advertising is dominant. Pay is second. Excited about in car entertainment. DVB-I is crucial as a standard. Standards for cable and satellite to also apply to internet.

AdTech keeps evolving and last week showed how fast the rules are changing. A few signals worth watching 👇 • Viant grows 22% and pushes forward with AI-driven campaign optimization • Alphabet reports $96.5B in Q4 revenue, showing the scale of digital ads • Netflix introduces a Conversion API, bringing more performance tools to CTV • Streaming platforms continue building measurement infrastructure Advertising is shifting toward automation, outcomes, and clearer attribution. And every major platform is racing to build the next generation of ad infrastructure. 👉 Swipe through the carousel for the full weekly breakdown. #AdTech #Programmatic #CTV #AIAdvertising #DigitalAdvertising