Mediavine, the largest independent full-service ad management firm in the U.S., announced the removal of autoplay and all muted in-stream inventory across its 10,000 publisher partner websites. As of February 21, the company becomes the first and only publisher in the industry to be 100% compliant with the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB)’s latest video guidelines. As a result, Mediavine sites will have enhanced user experience and improved ad engagement.
In August 2022, the IAB Tech Lab announced new guidelines that now classify muted ads as out-stream video. To be considered in-stream (pre-roll, mid-roll, and post-roll), video placements must be set to “sound on” by default at the start.
Mediavine was an early adopter of this type of video ad classification now being endorsed by the IAB, as it launched Universal Player in 2021 to provide its publishers with stickier, yet less intrusive video ads. Advertisers working with Mediavine will also experience clearly lit, brand-safe ad buys thanks to properly labeled video inventory.
The programmatic ad industry uses a great deal of processing power and mislabeled inventory in a real-time bidding environment has a real-world impact on carbon emissions. Removing all autoplay in-stream inventory has had a massive impact on Mediavine’s network bandwidth. Since March 2021, there has been a 92% drop in total data usage with Universal Player deployed – an enormous decrease in web video usage. This reduction will result in a reduced carbon footprint and a further advancement in Mediavine’s carbon-neutral goal.
“As a longstanding, valued partner of TripleLift, we’re pleased to learn about Mediavine’s adoption of the IAB’s new video guidelines, demonstrating Mediavine’s industry-leading commitment to inventory transparency,” said Michael Lehman, senior vice president, Supply, at TripleLift. “For publishers reevaluating their video strategy, Mediavine’s out-stream success is a shining example. Prioritizing transparency and better user experiences pays off for the entire value chain.”
“The time for change is now. Mediavine has an ongoing commitment to helping our publisher partners build sustainable businesses online, and we will continue acting on it,” said Eric Hochberger, Mediavine CEO and Co-founder. “Complying with the new IAB video guidelines was a no-brainer for us. Ending 100% of autoplay and muted instream inventory improves transparency and consistency for buyers and sellers, as well as decreases our data storage. I’m proud Mediavine is out in front of this as the first to do it and, as always, committed to change for good across the ecosystem.”
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