Open auction (also called open marketplace or OA) is the default programmatic channel: a real-time auction where any DSP can bid on any available impression, with the highest bid winning. There is no deal ID, no pre-negotiation, and no inventory reservation. The publisher sets a floor price; any buyer who bids above that floor competes for the impression. In India CTV, open auction accounts for a smaller share of premium inventory than PMPs, but it is the primary entry point for buyers who are testing CTV for the first time or scaling reach across mid-tier publishers.
The real-time bidding (RTB) process
Every open auction impression triggers an RTB cycle that completes in under 100 milliseconds:
- A viewer triggers an ad break on a CTV app. The publisher's ad server (typically GAM) sends a bid request to connected SSPs (Magnite, PubMatic, etc.).
- Each SSP broadcasts the bid request to multiple DSPs simultaneously, including device type, content category, geographic data, and any available audience signals.
- DSPs evaluate the impression against their campaign targeting and return a bid price (or no bid) within ~80ms.
- The SSP runs a second-price auction: the highest bidder wins, paying the second-highest bid price plus Rs 0.01 (in most implementations).
- The winning DSP's ad creative is served. The entire process completes before the viewer's TV shows the ad.
Open auction vs PMP: where the inventory goes
Publishers prioritise their inventory in a waterfall or unified auction. Programmatic guaranteed deals get first access, then preferred deals, then PMPs, and finally open auction. This means open auction buyers typically receive the impressions that premium buyers did not want or could not fill.
For major India CTV publishers, a meaningful portion of their inventory is reserved for direct and PMP channels. Open auction access to JioHotstar or SonyLIV is real but limited — and often comes without the audience segments that make PMP inventory more valuable. For mid-tier and FAST channel publishers, a larger proportion of inventory reaches open auction because they have fewer direct or PMP relationships.
What you can and cannot target in open auction CTV
In open auction, the buyer is responsible for their own targeting. You can apply:
- Geographic targeting: City, state, or PIN code level in most DSPs
- Device targeting: Smart TV, connected device, specific OS versions
- Contextual targeting: Content genre or channel category where the publisher passes app/site name in the bid request
- Audience targeting: Your own first-party data (CRM audiences, website visitors) onboarded via your DSP
- Third-party data segments: Available in India but limited — most India CTV third-party audiences are modelled, not deterministic
What you cannot do in open auction is access the publisher's first-party audience data. That only comes with a PMP or direct deal.
Open auction CPMs in India CTV
Open auction CTV CPMs in India typically run Rs 40–100 for standard inventory. Premium content (sports, primetime drama) that reaches open auction will have floors set higher — Rs 80–150 — because publishers set floor prices to protect their inventory value. Untargeted or remnant inventory can clear at Rs 20–50 CPM.
The wide range reflects both inventory quality and buyer competition. During IPL, floors on all India CTV inventory rise because demand outstrips supply across all deal types, pushing open auction CPMs up as well.
When to use open auction for India CTV
Open auction is the right channel when:
- You are testing CTV for the first time and do not yet have publisher relationships for PMP deals
- Your primary objective is reach at lower CPMs across a wide publisher set, not premium placement
- You want to capture incremental inventory after your PMP deals are fully delivered
- You are running an always-on low-budget CTV presence and the economics of PMP minimums do not work
Open auction is the wrong channel when you need guaranteed delivery, premium content adjacency, or publisher first-party audience targeting. For those needs, a PMP or direct deal is required.