SpringServe (Magnite): CTV ad server, pricing model, clients and alternatives

SpringServe started as an independent ad server. When Magnite bought it in July 2021, its clients included Pluto TV, Sinclair Broadcast Group, Univision and VIZIO, and the price was about $31 million (Magnite, 1 July 2021). Magnite had bought SpotX, a CTV SSP, earlier that year. The two products ran side by side until April 2025, when Magnite merged them into one SpringServe platform (10-K, FY2025).

The platform is built for TV-style ad breaks. Magnite's annual report lists ad podding, dynamic ad insertion for live events, audio normalisation, frequency capping and creative review. It also lists SpringServe Home Screen Ads for programme guides (10-K). Those features matter to broadcasters more than to web publishers.

Its customers are large and few. LG Ad Solutions renewed SpringServe as its exclusive CTV video ad server for three more years on 14 October 2026 (PPC Land). JioHotstar expanded its use as a mediation layer across live sports in June 2026 (PPC Land). Magnite's 10-K warns that a small number of CTV sellers provide a large share of audiences.

In web advertising, header bidding lets exchanges compete before the ad server decides. CTV works differently. Magnite says competition in CTV "has largely been built directly within the ad server", and SpringServe lets sellers offer inventory "to multiple programmatic demand sources to compete in a unified auction" (10-K). The web version of that idea is explained in header bidding explained.

A typical break flows like this. The streaming app or a stitching service requests a pod. SpringServe checks direct campaigns, calls Magnite's own SSP and other demand partners, and fills the pod while applying separation and frequency rules. The ads are then stitched into the stream. Our SSAI and CTV ad serving explainer covers the stitching step and pod bidding.

Outside data plugs in at the ad server. Comscore's Proximic audiences became available inside SpringServe on 28 October 2026, with Future Today among the first sellers; neither company disclosed pricing (PPC Land).

There is no public rate card. Magnite's filings describe the models it uses, which is more than most CTV vendors disclose.

Magnite does not split out SpringServe revenue. Its CTV channel, which includes SpringServe and the streaming SSP, earned $346.1 million in 2025, 48% of revenue (10-K). In the third quarter of 2026 CTV revenue was $108.8 million, up 24%, and 53% of the total (10-Q, Q3 2026).

For SpringServe, little. The court excluded in-stream video and in-app formats from the data and interoperability remedies, which cover open-web display only (Memorandum Opinion, Dkt. 1858, p. 70). Magnite's display business could gain from AdX access through Prebid once a final judgment takes effect. Magnite is also suing Google in Magnite, Inc. v. Google LLC, No. 1:25-cv-10818 (S.D.N.Y.), listed in the opinion (Dkt. 1858, p. 41).

Strengths

• Ad server and SSP in one tool. One interface for direct, mediated and programmatic demand (10-K).
• Large TV platform clients. LG Ad Solutions and JioHotstar are recent public renewals.
• Public-company disclosure. Pricing models, CTV revenue and audit coverage appear in SEC filings.
• Broadcast features. Podding, live insertion, loudness and home screen units.

Limits

• Owner sells programmatic demand. The ad server that runs the auction belongs to the SSP that bids in it; publishers should test other demand fairly.
• No rate card. Fixed CPMs and fees are negotiated.
• Client concentration. Magnite says a few CTV sellers supply much of its audience.
• Display is out of scope. It is a video and CTV server.

• SpringServe's fixed CPM levels or monthly fees for any client.
• SpringServe's own revenue and client count; Magnite reports CTV as a whole.
• Why the SpringServe, LLC entry left the IAB Europe vendor list on 5 May 2026; it may reflect a corporate merger into Magnite.
• Current status of the Magnite v. Google suit.

1. Magnite, Inc., Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 (filed 25 February 2026). https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1595974/000159597426000007/mgni-20251231.htm
2. Magnite, Inc., Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 September 2026 (filed 4 November 2026). https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1595974/000159597426000041/mgni-20260930.htm
3. Magnite, Inc., Form 8-K (filed 7 October 2026). https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1595974/000119312526417011/d149525d8k.htm
4. Magnite, "Magnite Acquires SpringServe, A Leader in CTV Ad Serving Technology" (1 July 2021). https://www.magnite.com/press/magnite-acquires-springserve-a-leader-in-ctv-ad-serving-technology/
5. Magnite, "SpringServe joins the Amazon Publisher Services Streaming TV Ad Server Certification Program" (10 March 2023). https://www.magnite.com/press/springserve-joins-the-amazon-publisher-services-streaming-tv-ad-server-certification-program/
6. Magnite, "United Selects Magnite's SpringServe to Power Advertising Solution for Inflight Personal Device Entertainment" (17 June 2024). https://www.magnite.com/press/united-selects-magnites-springserve-to-power-advertising-solution-for-inflight-personal-device-entertainment/
7. PPC Land, "LG opens Home Screen ads to Magnite's AI agent in three-year deal" (14 October 2026). https://ppc.land/lg-opens-home-screen-ads-to-magnites-ai-agent-in-three-year-deal/
8. PPC Land, "JioHotstar taps Magnite SpringServe for programmatic mediation" (4 June 2026). https://ppc.land/jiohotstar-taps-magnite-springserve-for-programmatic-mediation-across-indias-biggest-sports-streams/
9. PPC Land, "Magnite SpringServe publishers gain Comscore ad targeting without viewer IDs" (28 October 2026). https://ppc.land/magnite-springserve-publishers-gain-comscore-ad-targeting-without-viewer-ids/
10. United States v. Google LLC, No. 1:23-cv-00108 (E.D. Va.), Memorandum Opinion, Dkt. 1858 (2 September 2026). https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/google-judge-memo.pdf