What is a deal ID in CTV programmatic advertising?

A deal ID is a unique alphanumeric code that represents a negotiated agreement between a buyer (via DSP) and a publisher (via SSP or ad server) for access to specific ad inventory. In a standard open programmatic auction, the buyer competes equally with all other buyers. A deal ID creates a privileged bidding channel — when a bid request arrives from the publisher with that deal ID in the OpenRTB pmp.deals object, the buyer's DSP recognises it and applies the negotiated terms (price floor, inventory access, audience permissions). Deal IDs are how PMPs, preferred deals, and programmatic guaranteed buys actually execute in the India CTV programmatic stack.

Three types are used in India CTV: (1) PMP deal ID — the most common; the publisher creates a deal representing access to a curated inventory package (e.g., "JioHotstar Premium CTV Sports"). The buyer bids on matching inventory but is not obligated to buy every impression. Floor prices typically ₹250–600 CPM. (2) Preferred deal ID — a fixed-price deal giving the buyer first look at matching inventory at a committed CPM, without a volume commitment. Used for price certainty on premium inventory. (3) Programmatic Guaranteed (PG) deal ID — a firm impression and spend commitment from both sides. Less common in India CTV; most publishers prefer direct IO for guaranteed campaigns.

The four most common causes of deal ID underdelivery in India CTV: (1) Deal ID not activated in the DSP — the deal was shared by the publisher but not entered in the DSP deal management interface (DV360: Marketplace → My Inventory; TTD: My Inventory → Deals). (2) Wrong DSP seat — the deal ID was created against a different DSP seat ID than the one the buyer is actually using; the publisher must recreate the deal against the correct seat. (3) Line item targeting too narrow — the deal receives bid requests, but the buyer's targeting parameters exclude most of them; widen the line item targeting. (4) CPM bid below the deal floor — bids are rejected because they are below the negotiated floor price; set the line item CPM floor at or above the deal floor.