Observed Signal · Apr 28, 2026 · Technical Release · Source: https://martech.org/feed/ · Impact: 3/5 · Sentiment: Positive
IAB Tech Lab Updates OpenRTB for Live Content
IAB Tech Lab has proposed updates to the OpenRTB standard to give programmatic buyers and sellers clearer, structured signals about "liveness" in bid requests and to improve pricing transparency. The changes add two optional fields and clarify an existing field in OpenRTB and AdCOM so sellers can indicate whether content is truly live, real-time but not strictly live, or in its first broadcast window. The proposal also refines substitution macros to better communicate discounts and net pricing between sellers and demand-side platforms. The work comes from IAB Tech Lab’s Programmatic Supply Chain working group and is open for public comment through May 28, 2026. The aim is to reduce ambiguity and friction as CTV and live-event inventory grow in programmatic channels.
Clarifies programmatic signals for live and near-live inventory and improves pricing transparency—changes that reduce friction between buyers and sellers and affect valuation of CTV and live-event inventory.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- IAB Tech Lab announced updates to OpenRTB to better define live content in the bidstream.
- The update adds two optional fields and clarifies an existing field in OpenRTB and AdCOM to describe content "liveness."
- IAB Tech Lab also refined substitution macros to improve how pricing, discounts, and net pricing are communicated to DSPs.
- The changes were produced by IAB Tech Lab’s Programmatic Supply Chain working group and are open for public comment through May 28, 2026.
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Unlock 2026: Key OpenRTB Updates for Programmatic Success
IAB Tech Lab’s Programmatic Supply Chain Working Group published a set of 2025 OpenRTB-related updates designed to reduce friction in programmatic Connected TV (CTV). Key releases include Content Taxonomy 3.1 (a richer genre taxonomy with CTV-focused categories and gTax support), Extended Content Identifiers (ECIDs) to enable privacy-safe content signals without sharing show titles, and new API concepts—sidecar APIs—targeted at live-event scale. The LEAP Concurrent Streams API (real-time concurrent viewer counts) is the first deliverable; a Forecasting API is planned for early 2026. A standardized Deals API (in public comment through Jan 31, 2026) and a new Object: Curation aim to fix fragmented deal workflows and improve transparency. The working group recommends implementing these standards together (taxonomy, ECIDs, Concurrent Streams, Forecasting and Deals APIs) to improve CTV targeting, monetization and operational scalability.
IAB Tech Lab releases CTV Ad Format Signaling
The IAB Tech Lab published a technical standard called CTV Ad Format Signaling to standardize how emergent CTV ad formats (Pause Ads, Menu/Home Screen, Overlay, Screensaver, In-Scene, Squeezebacks) are signaled in real-time bidding. The proposal extends existing AdCOM enumerations (plcmt, pos, playbackmethod), updates VAST NonLinearAds to carry MediaFiles, and uses the OpenRTB Native object for menu/home-screen placements. The change enables publishers to signal available placements and buyers (via DSPs) to bid with clarity, and requires SSPs, exchanges, DSPs, SSAI/CSAI services, and measurement partners to support the new enumerations and VAST behavior for programmatic buying and reporting.
IAB Tech Lab Publishes Programmatic Auction Definitions
The IAB Tech Lab has released the final Programmatic Auction Definitions document, developed with its Programmatic Supply Chain subgroup to provide a common vocabulary for how digital auctions operate in OpenRTB environments. The work supplements the Media Rating Council’s Digital Advertising Auction Transparency Standards, which were produced by the MRC’s Auction Standards Working Group to promote disclosure and standardization of auction rules and scoring. The definitions followed a public comment period in January–February 2026 and are available on GitHub. The announcement cites prior 2025 collaboration between the Media Rating Council, Omnicom Media Group and industry bodies (ANA, WFA, 4A’s, and IAB Tech Lab) to improve transparency in digital advertising auctions.
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