Is Dynamic Ad Insertion Reality or BS? Publishers Weigh In

The Death of the Super Bowl Ad?

Even at $7 million for a 30-second spot, most advertisers won’t blink an eye for a chance to be part of TV’s most-watched program. The Super Bowl has become a cultural phenomenon with the ads sometimes overshadowing the game itself. But while the Super Bowl draws a massive, diverse audience, not everyone watching is a potential customer. For every beer drinker there’s a health-conscious smoothie aficionado. For every person in the market for a new car, there’s someone that doesn’t even have a driver’s license. You get the point. 

There’s no questioning the Super Bowl’s ability to drive serious brand awareness; ultimately, that’s what TV advertising is all about. But what if you could actually reach and target the people who are in-market for your product during the biggest game of the year by making sure you’re only paying for reaching the audience you want? Thanks to the rise of Dynamic Ad Insertion, commonly known as DAI, that may very well be the future for how brands deliver ads—not just during the Super Bowl, but during every major TV program.

What is Dynamic Ad Insertion?

DAI is a technology that allows advertisers to dynamically insert ads into content in real-time, enabling personalized ad experiences. Unlike traditional TV ads scheduled for specific programs or time slots, which are typically static and predetermined, DAI gives advertisers the ability to serve ads based on demographics and behavior to serve tailored ads at a particular moment. The ads are inserted into the content, making them feel seamless to the viewer. 

With an unprecedented level of precision and flexibility, DAI promises to reshape the way advertisers connect with audiences. It’s essentially the next evolution of TV advertising, blending the hyper-targeting of digital advertising with the reach and scale of TV. And thanks to the explosive growth of streaming, there’s significant interest in the potential of DAI. So it comes as no surprise that the global DAI market is projected to reach $8 billion by 2030.

As a result of this massive market opportunity, TV publishers are racing to implement DAI into their platforms. “Over the past 10 years, we have seen more and more programmers enable DAI within live TV, creating opportunities to dynamically insert into live sports, events, and programming within authenticated, TV environments,” explained DIRECTV’s Sr. Account Executive, Alex Rullo. “We’ve been dynamically inserting ads into our own and operated inventory across 150+ cable networks for over a decade.” 

While DAI is already working well today, the real challenge lies in making it work during mass “linear” streaming events. It’s not just a question about the ads; the content itself can struggle to render, as evident by issues during Netflix’s Mike Tyson fight and Hulu’s Oscars broadcast. Massive live viewership puts immense pressure on streaming servers, and with millions of dollars and brand reputations at stake, there’s no margin for error. That’s why companies like Netflix and Disney are investing heavily in infrastructure to support addressable ads during live programming. Still, some say they’re already there. 

“Tubi is a digital-first platform where over 95% of viewing is done on-demand, and almost everything we do has dynamic ad insertion,” said Tubi’s SVP of East Coast Sales, Peter Graseck. “Simply put, DAI is in our DNA.”

“We’ve implemented DAI across most of our endpoints, including CTV, TVE, STB, VOD, and live linear,” said Warner Bros. Discovery’s (WBD) Head of Research, Data and Insights, David Porter.  

Live Sports Will be the Ultimate Test 

With live sports driving massive investments in media rights, publishers are betting big on its revenue potential. To make these high stakes pay off, DAI will be essential in unlocking maximum monetization. But live sports programming has historically presented unique challenges for the technology. These events often attract millions of concurrent viewers, so it puts an enormous strain on DAI servers if the infrastructure is not properly scaled. Publishers also face technical glitches like pixel tracking failures or buffering, which can disrupt the viewing experience. And given the unpredictable nature of commercial beaks in live sports, DAI must be able to handle unplanned ad triggers at any given moment. These are all hurdles publishers are working hard to address. But WBD is confident they’ll have no issues. 

“We have solved for all programming types, ensuring that DAI in live sports and major events is designed to deliver seamless ad experiences without disruptions,” stated WBD’s Porter.

Likewise, DIRECTV claims to have a solid game plan for live sports. “The ad breaks that (we) can dynamically insert into are the same planned ad breaks identified for traditional linear TV,” said Rullo. “Additionally, using server-side ad insertion technology (SSAI), which shifts ad insertion to the server versus the viewer’s device, the stitching of ads into the video stream creates a smoother viewing experience. We also work alongside various supply-side platforms to ensure our programmatic demand is matched by real-time traffic surges to deliver uninterrupted ads during key sports moments.”

Publishers will still need to implement innovative approaches to help brands sidestep the usual friction between cost, seed, and targeting. “While we know that precision targeted media often comes with a premium and can be hard to scale, by partnering deeper with WBD and integrating into our DCR strategy, advertisers can take advantage of this highly targeted, highly performant media by reducing the cost and speed to market, while simultaneously increasing match rates in a meaningful way,” said WBD’s Porter.

There’s plenty of optimism around the future of DAI, and with good reason. But its success hinges on one thing: seamless technical infrastructure that can support live content without hiccups. So, should we take DAI seriously? Publishers say yes.

Why Advertisers Should Believe 

DAI is more than just targeting. According to WBD, timing is everything. “DAI places ads seamlessly within the content, rather than just at the beginning or end of a program. This strategic placement, coupled with a relevant audience targeting approach, ensures that viewers are already immersed in the content, making them more receptive to the ad message,” said Porter. “As a result, advertisers reach an audience that is leaned in, actively choosing to consume, and more likely to engage.”

“With so many sources of data, and so many ways to leverage that data, DAI allows advertisers to tap into audiences across the marketing funnel,” shared Tubi’s Graseck.”DAI gives advertisers the ability to use data to achieve multiple goals simultaneously.”

For DIRECTV, it’s all about flexibility. “Our advertisers now have more options to transact on premium streaming inventory--whether that’s through Direct IO, programmatic structures, or Universal IDs,” said Rullo. “Advertisers can leverage robust data to target and connect with brands while placing seamless convergent buys, to create richer and more personalized advertising. We see this across the DIRECTV advertising ecosystem, where better ad experiences lead to better business outcomes for advertisers.”

“DCRs will allow advertisers and media companies to match first-party data in a secure, privacy-compliant environment, enabling privacy-safe audience targeting,” stated WBD’s Porter. “Advertisers can also measure the impact of data-driven advertising campaigns through post-exposure attribution and conversion tracking by securely linking ad exposure to online and offline conversions. This will provide insights into how DAI influences upper-and lower-funnel outcomes without violating user privacy.”

Looking Ahead to the Future

Publishers agree the future of DAI is poised for continued adoption, driven by technological advancements and continued shifts in TV viewing behavior. 

Some publishers, like WBD, envision a world where DAI becomes more precise, privacy-compliant, and versatile, thanks to Data Clean Rooms (DCRs).

Tatari’s own DCR, The Vault aims to enhance privacy by allowing CTV media owners and ad buyers to share data in a tokenized fashion, solving the problem of fragmentation for both sides and enhancing privacy compliance. 

In addition to privacy innovations, the evolution of server-side technologies is expected to play a significant role in DAI's future. DIRECTV thinks that over the next few years, "more traditional linear platforms will become DAI-enabled" as server technology advances toward server-guided ad insertion (SGAI) and this shift should enhance the viewing experience by seamlessly integrating ads into media content. Furthermore, DIRECTV sees DAI expanding into new formats. "We think DAI will grow steadily across media types, particularly Digital Out of Home, where we will see DAI disrupting formats like billboards, live TV in hotels, and commercial business,” said Rullo. 

Even as DAI technology evolves, its role within TV advertising remains a topic of debate. Some publishers believe that DAI will complement rather than replace traditional TV ad buys. "DAI will become an increasingly important tool for advertisers, but it will likely remain complementary to traditional TV ad buys, especially as cross-platform strategies continue to grow,” said WBD’s Porter. “Instead of replacing traditional methods, DAI will enhance the ad landscape by offering more personalized, data-driven, and interactive ad experiences alongside traditional TV campaigns."

“Streaming and DAI are driving innovation in measurement, expanding upon and complementing traditional methods of delivering audiences,” stated Tubi’s Graseck.

If done right, DAI benefits everyone. It will give publishers more flexibility in how they sell inventory, whether it's maximizing value on a per-household basis through targeted impressions at higher CPMs or commanding steeper premiums for large-scale, marquee events. Meanwhile brands can still secure those big, tent-pole events, but opt for an unprecedented level of targeting with no wasted impressions, as long as they’re willing to pay for reaching specific audiences. And for viewers, it means fewer irrelevant ads during their favorite shows. 

There’s no question the future looks promising for DAI. As publishers have shared, it will continue to evolve to meet the needs of advertisers and audiences alike. While some see it as a complement to traditional TV advertising strategies, others believe it will disrupt TV advertising entirely. But if DAI is going to be the technology that rewrites the Super Bowl ad playbook as we know it, it will need to prove it can perform under the pressure of TV’s biggest moments without fail. 

Editor’s Note: Tatari reached out to Netflix, Amazon, NBC Universal, Paramount, and Disney for this article, but they declined to comment.