Key Points

  • CTV inventory represents 27% of all bid requests while accounting for only 17% of available user time, creating an unsustainable QPS burden
  • Four CTV-specific factors multiply bid requests beyond typical web and mobile levels: pod splitting, transparency levels, inventory splits, and pre-fetching
  • Publishers who don't optimize their supply chains risk being filtered out as DSPs implement QPS caps to manage the overwhelming bid volume
  • The solution requires industry-wide adoption of more efficient practices, but first movers face short-term revenue penalties
  • Ad tech platforms must reward QPS-efficient publishers through optimized participation rates or dedicated QPS allocations

The connected TV advertising ecosystem faces a brewing crisis that threatens to undermine the very foundation of programmatic revenue. While CTV has emerged as the golden child of digital advertising, a closer examination of the latest industry data reveals a troubling reality: the technology infrastructure supporting CTV monetization is creating an unsustainable burden on the entire ad tech supply chain.

According to Jounce Media's July 2025 Monthly Supply Path Benchmarking Report, CTV inventory now represents 27% of all real-time bidding requests while accounting for just 17% of available user time. This disparity signals a fundamental inefficiency that's getting worse as more streaming services adopt complex monetization strategies borrowed from web and mobile advertising.

The Math That Doesn't Add Up

The core issue lies in queries per second (QPS), the metric that determines how much processing power ad tech platforms need to handle bid requests. CTV is generating significantly more bid requests per minute of user engagement than web or mobile environments, creating what industry experts are calling a "QPS crisis."

The numbers paint a stark picture of this imbalance. While web inventory maintains a relatively balanced ratio between user time and bid requests, CTV's disproportionate share of the bidstream reveals an ecosystem under strain. This isn't just a technical problem, it's a revenue problem that affects every publisher monetizing through programmatic channels.

The average RTB-enabled publisher now works with 26.2 directly integrated sell-side platforms and authorizes 16.8 of these partners to initiate resold auctions. For CTV publishers specifically, this translates to exponentially more bid requests than their web and mobile counterparts generate with similar audience engagement levels.

 



Four Culprits Behind the CTV QPS Explosion

The report identifies four specific factors that multiply CTV bid requests far beyond what traditional digital advertising experiences. Each represents a legitimate business need, yet together they create a perfect storm of inefficiency.

Pod splitting occurs when streaming services break ad pods into individual bid requests rather than selling them as complete units. A 90-second ad break might generate six separate 15-second bid requests, even when it could be filled with three 30-second advertisements. This creates twice the necessary QPS load when longer-form creative assets are ultimately selected.

Transparency levels emerge when CTV companies with substantial direct sales operations issue multiple bid requests for the same inventory, each containing different amounts of content metadata. Open auction buyers receive basic genre information, while private marketplace participants get detailed producer and title data. The result: three separate bid requests where one could suffice.

Inventory splits compound the problem when multiple rights holders, such as app developers, content owners, and device manufacturers, simultaneously attempt to monetize the same ad opportunity. Rather than assigning inventory to a single rights holder, many streaming services run concurrent auctions through all rights holders, tripling the bid request volume.

Pre-fetching adds another layer of complexity as streaming services request ads well in advance of actual ad breaks, particularly for video-on-demand content. When viewers abandon content mid-stream, significant QPS resources are wasted on ads that never deliver.

The Supply Chain Strain Reaches a Breaking Point

This QPS inflation isn't just a technical inconvenience. Demand-side platforms operating with limited processing capacity are being forced to filter supply more aggressively, potentially excluding publishers from auctions entirely. The report notes that with current supply chain dynamics, a live streaming event with 10 million concurrent viewers would create an "unmanageable volume of bid requests that even the best resourced DSPs could not handle."

Publishers should understand that their position in this ecosystem directly affects their revenue potential. Those operating with bloated, inefficient supply chains may find themselves increasingly filtered out of high-value auctions as DSPs implement more aggressive QPS management strategies.

The bellwether data shows that major publishers are adapting differently to these challenges. While some have streamlined their monetization stacks, others continue adding demand partners without considering the QPS implications. This divergence is creating a two-tiered system where efficient publishers gain competitive advantages over their less optimized counterparts.

New call-to-action

Visit the full SPO resource center.

Solutions Exist, But Adoption Lags

The advertising technology industry has developed solutions for each of the four QPS multiplication factors. 

  • Podded bidding eliminates the need for pod splitting by allowing SSPs to send complete ad break requests to DSPs. 
  • Content ID signals can replace transparency level multiplication by providing secure metadata sharing. 
  • Run-time inventory allocation can prevent concurrent rights holder auctions. 
  • Sophisticated pre-fetching algorithms can minimize wasted bid requests.

The challenge lies in implementation. Publishers who adopt these efficiency measures first face a counterintuitive penalty: fewer bid requests mean less DSP participation in the short term, potentially reducing competition and CPMs. This creates a classic coordination problem where industry-wide solutions require individual publishers to accept temporary revenue decreases.

The OpenRTB specification formalized podded bidding approaches in April 2022, yet adoption remains limited. Similarly, the IAB Tech Lab is developing new standards to help ad tech platforms forecast and prepare for QPS spikes, but implementation across the ecosystem moves slowly.

DSPs Hold the Key to Change

The most effective path forward requires demand-side platforms to adjust their bidding behavior to reward QPS efficiency. The report suggests two approaches that could drive rapid adoption of more efficient practices.

Optimized participation rates would see DSPs bidding more frequently on inventory from publishers with lean monetization stacks and less frequently on inventory from publishers with bloated setups. If a streaming service reduces its QPS volume by half, DSPs should bid twice as often, maintaining or increasing overall auction competition while rewarding efficiency.

QPS allocations represent a more direct approach where DSPs work with publishers to identify single preferred supply paths that receive uncapped QPS access. This consolidates the QPS burden while ensuring high-value inventory remains accessible to programmatic buyers.

Both strategies require DSPs to move beyond simply managing QPS caps reactively toward proactively rewarding publishers who contribute to supply chain efficiency.

The Revenue Risk of Inaction

Publishers who ignore this evolving landscape face serious competitive disadvantages. As DSPs implement more sophisticated QPS management, inefficient supply chains will increasingly find themselves filtered out of premium auctions. The report warns that "a DSP that operates with limited QPS capacity already sees a highly filtered view of available supply, and that DSP's view of supply will continue to deteriorate as more CTV supply comes online."

This filtration affects revenue in multiple ways. Reduced auction participation leads to lower competition and decreased CPMs. Delayed or missed auction responses can result in unfilled inventory. Most critically, advertisers may begin preferencing DSPs with more coherent CTV strategies, further marginalizing inefficient supply paths.

The data shows that publishers maintaining direct supply chain relationships capture significantly more revenue than those operating primarily through resold channels. As QPS constraints tighten, this advantage will likely increase, creating stronger incentives for publishers to streamline their monetization approaches.

Major Utility & Education Website Case Study

Read the full case study.

Building QPS-Conscious Revenue Strategies

Smart publishers are already adapting their strategies to account for QPS efficiency. This means making deliberate choices about demand partner integration, implementing podded bidding where possible, and working with SSPs that prioritize supply chain optimization.

The most forward-thinking publishers are beginning to view QPS impact as a key factor in monetization partner selection. Rather than simply adding every available demand source, they're evaluating the incremental revenue benefit against the QPS cost and potential filtration risk.

Publishers should also consider the long-term implications of their technology choices. Streaming services built on inefficient ad tech foundations may find themselves increasingly disadvantaged as the industry evolves toward more sustainable QPS management.

Working with monetization partners who understand and actively address QPS challenges becomes crucial. Publishers need partners who can navigate the complex trade-offs between auction participation, supply chain efficiency, and revenue optimization without sacrificing long-term competitive positioning.

The CTV QPS crisis represents both a challenge and an opportunity for publishers willing to think strategically about their monetization approach. Those who act early to optimize their supply chains will likely benefit from preferential treatment by DSPs and advertisers seeking efficient, scalable CTV inventory. Those who wait may find themselves fighting for scraps in an increasingly constrained ecosystem.

Updated Apply Now