Server-Side Ad Insertion for CTV Advertising Platform

About the Сlient

Adoppler is a technology partner for media companies, providing AdTech, CTV, and OTT TV consulting, platform customization, integrations, and AdOps support.

Its full-stack programmatic platform enables real-time bidding (RTB) and advanced ad serving, built exclusively for CTV and streaming environments.

Background and Сontext

With deep expertise in the programmatic ecosystem, Adoppler saw an opportunity to enhance its platform’s capabilities. The idea was to offer content owners a new way to serve ads through their platform: Server-Side Ad Insertion (SSAI).

By moving ad delivery from the user’s device to the server, Adoppler wanted to allow ads to live within the content stream itself. This approach opened the door to stable playback, immunity to ad blockers, and flawless viewer experiences across all operating systems.

To minimize market risk, Adoppler needed to validate this idea with a functional SSAI prototype. They required a partner who could quickly translate complex video engineering requirements into a working demo. Adoppler chose Geomotiv to build this technological foundation due to our specialized expertise in video streaming and AdTech engineering.

Goals

The client’s goal was to develop an SSAI MVP as a proof-of-concept for Adoppler’s leadership and stakeholders. This prototype was designed to verify that the platform could handle the technical challenges of SSAI and unlock new revenue streams for the client’s business.

Strategic ​business goals:

• Validate that a built-in SSAI service can unlock new business value and serve as a powerful tool to attract premium publishers.
• Perform a preliminary cost-benefit analysis by benchmarking real-time video transcoding expenses against ad inventory value.
• Demonstrate a universal, plug-and-play SSAI solution that lowers partner onboarding barriers and avoids custom development.
• Bypass ad-blockers through server-side ad insertion to maximize fill rates for media owners.
• Introduce a new delivery method that drives higher ad completion rates and protects viewer retention during commercial breaks.

Key technical objectives for the SSAI MVP:

• Deliver seamless, frame-accurate transitions between content and ads.
• Integrate with Adoppler’s Ad Server for ad decisioning and creative preparation.
• Work on any device (from smartphones to Smart TVs) without complex integration.
• Support diverse content formats and server-side video ad insertion types (pre-, mid-, and post-roll ads) for live and VOD streamsThe SSAI MVP consists of two core components that are seamlessly integrated with Adoppler’s platform and interact with each other in real-time. It helps separate the business logic of ad campaigns from resource-intensive video processing.
• Increase inventory value by personalizing ads within a video stream.
• Provide total transparency through a hybrid tracking system that captures every viewer interaction.

Solution

The SSAI MVP consists of two core components that are seamlessly integrated with Adoppler’s platform and interact with each other in real-time. It helps separate the business logic of ad campaigns from resource-intensive video processing.

1. SSAI ad server automates ad selection and tracks every impression:

• Real-time ad requests. Directly integrates with Adoppler’s ad server to fetch the right creatives.
• Timeline generation. Automatically plans exactly when each ad appears.
• Ad insertion logic. Coordinates the placement of ads within the content flow.
• Secure personalization. Uses session management and URL tokenization to deliver targeted content and protect ad streams against unauthorized access and fraud.
• Impression tracking. Monitors beacons in real-time to understand the advertising performance of server-side ad insertion.

2. AdBlender handles physical assembly of the video stream for SSAI to provide a premium viewer experience on any device:

• Ad stitching. It generates video segments with ads already embedded in the stream. This makes ads invisible to ad blockers and eliminates delays when transitioning between content and ads.
• Universal compatibility. The output is a standard HLS playlist that is plug-and-play across web, iOS, Android, Roku, Tizen, WebOS, and CTV ecosystems.

The SSAI MVP supports flexible placements in any format and position, including pre-roll, mid-roll, and post-roll. It also enables non-intrusive formats like Picture-in-Picture (PiP) and L-shape overlays, which let ads run alongside content without disrupting the viewer journey.​

The SSAI system adapts the delivery based on the streaming format:

• VOD. It instantly generates transcoding tasks when a viewer presses Play, so there are no delays in delivering personalized ad content via server-side ad insertion.
• Live Streaming. Transcoding is triggered dynamically as the playlist timeline progresses, so server-side video ad insertion happens in real time without interrupting the stream.

Results

We delivered a fully-functional server-side ad insertion prototype that validated technical feasibility and gave Adoppler a clear business case for full-scale rollout. Once the SSAI concept proves valuable with internal stakeholders, the work will move into the next phase, including infrastructure improvements and commercial scaling.

Technologies Used