Magnite’s Barrett On ClearLine’s Progress, SSP Evolution

MIAMI — A year after Magnite launched ClearLine, a platform designed to give media buyers access to “premium video inventory” without the need for a demand-side platform, how is it shaking-out?

Beet.TV caught-up with Michael Barrett, President and CEO, Magnite, at POSSIBLE 2024.

“It’s not a DSP replacement, but it’s significant in converting insertion orders to programmatic delivery,” says Barrett.

Unlocking Programmatic Potential in Streaming

ClearLine’s primary clients are agencies, and Barrett highlights the global reach of the platform.

“It’s all through the agencies. We have formal agreements with GroupM, Horizon, Stagwell, and it’s quite global. Nine from Australia and the OMG group in Germany are using it too,” he explains.

“We put our ClearLine technology into the Mediaocean Prisma system, turning what used to be an insertion order generated to a publisher into a true programmatic delivery,” Barrett details.

Magnite’s Barrett Sees A ClearLine To Programmatic Maturity, Even Minus The DSP

Embracing the Ad-Supported Streaming Model

As major streaming services adopt ad-supported models, Barrett sees a golden opportunity for programmatic advertising. “Everything’s ad supported. That’s terrific for the whole programmatic industry,” he says.

Barrett believes that this shift is not just about transferring broadcast dollars to streaming but about expanding the advertising base.

“Our role is to help democratize the advertising base. The streaming economics do not work if we replicate broadcast. What does work is if 500 advertisers become 15,000 advertisers,” he asserts.

SSPs: Democratizing Advertising in Streaming

The role of Supply-Side Platforms (SSPs) like Magnite is crucial in diversifying the advertising pool, according to Barrett. He envisions a tailored ad experience. “Your ad pod is totally different than the ad pod I would see. And that’s when media companies can start to get tech growth from an advertising growth standpoint,” he explains.

Barrett sees SSPs as aggregators of demand, crucial in a landscape where thousands of advertisers vie for visibility. “Our role in that very fragmented market becomes a more traditional SSP role, aggregating the demand and helping bring it on board,” he says.

Retail media networks are another growing area where SSPs have a role to play.

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