A deal ID is a unique alphanumeric identifier created by a publisher's SSP that encodes an agreed set of trading parameters — floor price, buyer seat, inventory segment, creative specifications — into a single token. When a buyer activates that deal ID in their DSP, bid requests matching the deal's parameters carry the deal ID in the OpenRTB pmp.deals object, and the SSP's auction logic prioritises bids from that deal over the open auction. Deal IDs are how India CTV premium inventory is bought outside the open exchange.
What a deal ID is
In the OpenRTB protocol, every bid request from an SSP can include a pmp (private marketplace) object containing one or more deal IDs. The deal ID is a string — typically 10–20 alphanumeric characters — that both the SSP and the buying DSP recognise. When the DSP sees a bid request with that deal ID in the pmp.deals array, it knows this impression is available under the negotiated terms, not just at open auction prices.
The deal ID itself carries no data — it is a pointer. The actual deal parameters (floor CPM, buyer seat ID, start/end dates, targeting constraints, creative format requirements) are stored in the SSP's deal management system, associated with that ID. When the auction runs, the SSP checks whether the winning bid came from the deal's authorised buyer seat and whether it meets the floor, then applies the deal's priority rules before awarding the impression.
Deal ID types
Deal IDs encode three fundamentally different commercial arrangements:
- Private Marketplace (PMP): The most common deal type in India CTV. The publisher sets a floor CPM above which the deal buyer gets first-look priority (or exclusive access) to specified inventory. No volume commitment on either side. The buyer may or may not win impressions depending on whether they bid above the floor. See PMP deals in CTV for detailed mechanics.
- Programmatic Guaranteed (PG): The buyer commits to a fixed volume of impressions at a fixed CPM. The publisher guarantees delivery of that volume. No auction — the PG deal has the highest priority in the SSP's ad decisioning stack, running ahead of PMP, preferred, and open auction. PG requires creative approval, targeting agreement, and more operational setup than PMP. Used in India by large FMCG and auto brands for guaranteed reach against premium content on JioHotstar.
- Preferred Deal: A fixed-price, non-guaranteed arrangement where the buyer gets first right of refusal at a set CPM before inventory goes to open auction, but with no delivery commitment. Less common in India CTV than PMP; used occasionally for test campaigns where a brand wants preferred access without the PG commitment overhead.
How to set up a CTV deal ID in India
The setup process follows a consistent sequence regardless of publisher or SSP:
- Contact the right party: Deal IDs are created by the publisher's SSP team, not the publisher directly. For JioHotstar: contact Google AdX/DV360 programmatic sales. For SonyLIV: contact Magnite India programmatic sales. For Zee5: contact PubMatic India. The publisher's own ad sales team can facilitate introductions but does not create deal IDs.
- Negotiate deal parameters: Agree floor CPM, inventory segment (premium long-form, live sports, specific genres), content targeting constraints (language, genre, daypart), creative specs (15s or 30s, skippable or non-skippable), flight dates, and exclusivity (if any). India PMP floors are quoted in INR CPM. Confirm whether the floor is gross or net of SSP fees.
- Receive deal ID from SSP: The SSP creates the deal in their system and shares the deal ID string with the buyer.
- Activate in DSP: In DV360: go to Inventory → Deal Manager → New Deal → enter the deal ID, associate with the relevant insertion order and line item, set a bid strategy at or above the floor. In TTD: go to Inventory → My Deals → Add Deal → enter deal ID, set targeting and bid parameters.
- Send a test and confirm delivery: Run a small test with a low impression cap (500–1,000 impressions) to confirm the deal is delivering. Check DSP deal reporting for bid requests received, bids submitted, win rate, and impressions delivered. A deal ID that receives bid requests but delivers zero impressions usually indicates a floor CPM mismatch or a DSP seat authorisation problem.
- Scale to full campaign: Once the test confirms delivery, remove the impression cap and set campaign pacing against the deal.
Common deal ID problems and fixes
Most India CTV deal activation issues fall into one of these patterns:
- Zero bid requests from the deal: The DSP is not receiving any bid requests from that deal ID. Cause: the SSP has not yet associated the correct DSP buyer seat ID with the deal, or the deal has not been activated on the SSP side. Fix: confirm with the SSP that the deal is active and that the correct DSP seat ID is attached. In DV360, the relevant seat is the Google Authorized Buyers account ID; in TTD it is the TTD seat ID.
- Bid requests received but zero wins: The DSP is seeing the deal's bid requests but not winning any impressions. Most common cause: the DSP bid is below the deal's floor CPM. Fix: check the floor CPM in DSP deal settings against the negotiated floor. If using dynamic bidding, set a minimum bid that meets or exceeds the floor. Secondary cause: creative not approved by publisher — JioHotstar requires pre-approval for live sports inventory.
- Deal delivering on wrong inventory: Impressions are running on content outside the agreed segment. Cause: deal parameters were set too broadly at the SSP level. Fix: review deal parameters with the SSP and add explicit content targeting in the DSP line item.
- Deal expired mid-campaign: SSP deal IDs in India are commonly set with fixed end dates. If the campaign continues beyond the original flight, the deal must be extended by the SSP. Build extension requests into campaign management timelines — SSP teams typically need 2–3 business days to extend a deal.