The CTV ad decisioning waterfall is the sequence of checks the publisher's ad server runs to fill each slot in an ad break. It determines which demand source gets priority, how much the publisher will accept, and what happens if no buyer meets the floor. Every India CTV publisher — JioHotstar, SonyLIV, Zee5 — has a configured waterfall. The shape of that waterfall determines what a programmatic buyer can access and at what CPM.
What is the CTV ad decisioning waterfall?
When a viewer starts watching content and an ad break begins, the publisher's ad server has milliseconds to decide which ad plays. It runs through a priority-ordered list of demand sources — from most committed (direct contracts) down to least committed (open auction) — and accepts the first demand source that can fill the slot at an acceptable CPM. This is the waterfall.
The term comes from the cascading logic: if priority level 1 cannot fill the slot, the decision falls to level 2. If level 2 fails, it falls to level 3, and so on. The waterfall ends when either a slot is filled or no demand is available (resulting in a blank — a house ad, a slate, or simply a content gap).
In practice, modern CTV ad servers run a more sophisticated version than a purely sequential waterfall. But the priority logic — direct contracts beating programmatic, programmatic guaranteed beating open auction — is the structural reality that shapes who wins each impression.
Waterfall priority layers
A typical India CTV publisher waterfall has the following priority order, from highest to lowest:
-
Direct IO (Insertion Order) — Sponsorship / Roadblock
Exclusive brand arrangements. A sponsor buys 100% of ad slots in a specific content property (e.g., all IPL match ads for one team sponsor). These are pre-empting deals: they override all other demand. Highest CPMs (₹400–2,000+ per break sponsorship). Reserved months in advance. -
Programmatic Guaranteed (PG)
A committed-volume deal between a buyer and publisher negotiated via DSP. The publisher has contractually committed to deliver a specific number of impressions at a fixed CPM. PG runs before open auction because the publisher must fulfil the contractual obligation. CPMs: ₹180–600 depending on content and targeting. -
Private Marketplace (PMP)
A curated private auction. The publisher invites specific buyers to bid on inventory via a deal ID. The floor is higher than open auction. No volume commitment — the buyer bids, and the highest bid above the floor wins. CPMs: ₹120–400. -
Preferred Deal (Non-Guaranteed Fixed Price)
A first-look deal at a negotiated CPM. The buyer gets priority access to available inventory at a fixed price, but the publisher is not obligated to deliver volume. Less common in India CTV; primarily used by Zee5 and mid-tier publishers. -
Open Auction (RTB)
All eligible DSPs bid in a real-time auction. Lowest priority. The publisher sets a floor; the highest bid above the floor wins. CPMs: ₹40–150 for premium publishers; ₹20–80 for FAST and long-tail. -
House Ads / Backfill
If no paid demand fills the slot, the publisher serves its own promotional content (subscription upsells, content promos) or leaves the slot blank. Not sold externally. Not a revenue event.
Unified auction vs sequential waterfall
The traditional waterfall is sequential: each layer gets its chance before passing to the next. This was the standard CTV ad decisioning model until 2020–2022. It has a well-known problem: open auction demand is never seen simultaneously with direct or PMP demand. A high open auction bid that exceeds a PMP floor never gets the chance to win because it is evaluated after PMP, not alongside it.
Google Ad Manager introduced Unified Pricing Rules and unified auction logic that allows open exchange bids to compete against PMP bids in a single real-time auction. In theory, the publisher maximises yield by always taking the highest CPM regardless of deal type. In practice, direct IO sponsorships and PG deals are still pre-empting — they sit above the unified auction layer and are filled before any auction runs.
JioHotstar / Google Ad Manager runs unified auction for programmatic demand (PMP and open auction compete simultaneously). Direct IO and PG remain pre-empting above the auction layer.
SonyLIV / SpringServe uses a configurable waterfall with optional yield group logic. SpringServe allows publishers to define priority tiers and opt into unified auction-style competition within tiers.
Zee5 / PubMatic uses header bidding-style logic for CTV via OpenWrap, where multiple demand sources bid simultaneously before the ad server makes a final decision. This approaches unified auction in effect.
How India publishers configure their stack
India's three largest CTV publishers have materially different waterfall configurations driven by their ad tech stack choices:
| Publisher | Ad Server | Primary SSP | Waterfall model | Open auction access |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JioHotstar | Google Ad Manager / DAI | Google (DV360) | Unified auction (GAM) | DV360 primarily; limited TTD access |
| SonyLIV | SpringServe | Magnite | Configurable waterfall / yield groups | Magnite → TTD, DV360, others |
| Zee5 | PubMatic (OpenWrap) | PubMatic | Header bidding-style unified | PubMatic → TTD, DV360, others |
The practical consequence for buyers: reaching JioHotstar programmatically almost always means using DV360. Reaching SonyLIV and Zee5 is available through TTD as well, via Magnite and PubMatic respectively. An advertiser running across all three publishers will typically need both DV360 and TTD — or a single DSP with connections to all three SSPs.
What happens when no demand fills
An unfilled slot — where no demand source at any waterfall level meets the floor — is a lost revenue event for the publisher. In linear TV, the network fills this with a promotional spot. In CTV, the publisher can:
- Serve a house ad — Promotional content for its own subscription tier, an upcoming show, or a referral offer.
- Collapse the slot — Shorten the pod by one slot. The viewer's break is slightly shorter, which is a better viewer experience but reduced inventory yield.
- Reduce the floor and re-run the open auction — Some ad servers support dynamic floor reduction on timeout. If the initial floor is ₹100 and no bid clears, the floor drops to ₹60 for a second pass. This is a yield management trade-off: lower CPM but improved fill rate.
Fill rate — the percentage of available slots that are filled with paid ads — is a key publisher KPI. India CTV publishers targeting ₹150+ average CPMs typically maintain floors that result in fill rates of 60–80% on premium content. FAST channel inventory, with lower floors, runs fill rates closer to 85–95%.
Buyer implications of the waterfall
Understanding the waterfall helps buyers make better decisions about deal structure and DSP selection:
Open auction buyers are last in line. If a publisher has high PG and PMP commitments, open auction buyers see only remnant inventory — unfilled slots after all higher-priority demand is satisfied. Premium content with strong demand commitment may have very little open auction inventory available. Buyers who rely exclusively on open auction for premium India CTV often underspend their budgets because there is not enough inventory at the price point.
PMP deals access inventory before open auction but after PG. A PMP buyer is ahead of open auction but cannot displace a PG buyer from a committed slot. This makes PMP the right instrument for reliable access to quality inventory without the volume commitment of PG.
PG guarantees delivery but requires forecast accuracy. A PG deal commits both parties: the buyer to spend at a fixed CPM over the flight, the publisher to deliver the contracted impressions. Underdelivery penalties and make-good policies vary by publisher. PG is appropriate for large campaigns with known budgets and defined flight dates.
The DSP you use determines which waterfall tiers you can access. DV360 buyers can access JioHotstar's full programmatic stack (PG, PMP, open). TTD buyers access SonyLIV and Zee5's full stack. For a cross-publisher India CTV buy, both DSPs — or a single DSP with SSP connections to all three publishers — are required.