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Magnite CRO Sean Buckley takes issue with the recent characterization of supply-side platforms (SSPs) in peril.
The prevailing narrative is that SSPs are cutting out demand-side platforms (DSPs) in a desperate attempt to differentiate – and in response to ominous countervailing forces.
Last year, The Trade Desk launched OpenPath, a product that allows buyers to circumvent their supply partners (especially Google) and buy inventory directly from publishers. This year, both Magnite (with ClearLine) and PubMatic (with Activate) launched products that give advertisers direct access to CTV and online video inventory.
Most observers have interpreted these moves as battles and skirmishes in the great disintermediation and supply-path optimization wars, whereby SSPs are battling for relevance by blurring the line between supply-side and demand-side technology.
“[But] in terms of the disintermediation discussion, I do think the industry probably made more out of it than is really there,” Buckley says on this week’s episode of AdExchanger Talks.
With ClearLine, Buckley says, Magnite isn’t trying to become a DSP. It’s simply responding to requests from buyers to be able to purchase streaming inventory directly from Magnite. It’s worth pointing out that buyers can’t use ClearLine to buy display inventory.
“First and foremost, Magnite is a supply-focused company … [and] the launch of a specific service has not altered or changed that,” Buckley says. “By no means do we expect ClearLine to disintermediate or remove DSPs from the equation.”
Also in this episode: Defining “premium” video, the rise of FAST, the “sorta CTV” trend, programmatic at the upfronts and where/when Buckley would travel if he had a time machine.
