Glossary
Pod bidding
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Pod bidding is the OpenRTB 2.6 method for selling a video or audio ad break, or pod, as a group of related impressions, so buyers know the break's length, order and rules.
Television ad breaks hold several ads in a row. Before OpenRTB 2.6, a seller sent each slot as a separate impression, and buyers could not tell that two slots belonged to the same break. That made it hard to keep two rival car ads out of one break, or to buy the first slot.
OpenRTB 2.6 added fields for this (IAB Tech Lab, OpenRTB 2.6). The podid field groups the impressions in one pod. The podseq field gives the pod's position in the content, and slotinpod marks a first or last slot. The poddur and maxseq fields set the total time and the maximum number of ads in a dynamic pod. The mincpmpersec field sets a floor per second of ad time, and rqddurs lists exact allowed lengths for live TV.
The implementation guide names three pod types. A structured pod has a fixed number of slots and durations. A dynamic pod fixes only the total duration and the maximum number of ads. A hybrid pod mixes the two. The guide encourages sellers to offer dynamic pods where they can, so bidders can choose the best mix of ads (IAB Tech Lab, OpenRTB 2.6 implementation guide, section 7.6).
Example: A streaming channel offers a 120-second dynamic pod: "podid": "brk-7", "poddur": 120, "maxseq": 4, "mincpmpersec": 0.50. A DSP bids a 30-second ad at a $20 CPM, which clears the $15 floor implied by $0.50 per second.
Related terms: SSAI, VAST, FAST channel, floor price, CSAI.