Disney connects Disney's Real-Time Ad Exchange (DRAX) directly to Google and The Trade Desk

Disney Advertising today announced agreements with Google’s DV360 and The Trade Desk, significantly simplifying how advertisers access premium inventory across Disney's streaming platforms. This strategic move strengthens Disney's position in the evolving streaming advertising landscape, by connecting Disney's Real-Time Ad Exchange (DRAX) directly to DSPs.

Key Highlights

• DRAX Direct: Disney's Real-Time Ad Exchange (DRAX) expands to establish a direct connection to major media buying platforms, streamlining the ad buying process across Disney+ and Hulu.
• Increased Automation: The integration enables advertisers to access Disney's inventory in a more automated fashion.
• Google and The Trade Desk Integrations: These partnerships offer direct paths to Disney's inventory, promising greater reach, flexibility, and transparency for advertisers.
• Focus on Addressable Advertising: Disney continues its commitment to delivering a significant portion of advertising in an addressable and automated way.

“Disney’s goal is to empower advertisers to transact with the freedom and flexibility that best suits their business needs,” said Jamie Power, SVP, Addressable Sales, Disney Advertising. “Years ago, we committed to a vision and strategy of delivering 50% of our advertising in an addressable and automated way. Owning our own technology stack allows us to build a direct path between our premium inventory and the leading media buying platforms in the industry, simplifying the way ads are bought and sold on Disney, while delivering greater effectiveness for our clients.”

This move highlights Disney's focus on simplifying and streamlining the ad buying experience within its streaming ecosystem. By directly connecting with top buying platforms, Disney offers advertisers increased efficiency, control, and targeting capabilities. This development positions the company to better compete for advertising dollars in the increasingly important streaming market.

SSPs remain relevant in Disney's evolving advertising strategy

Despite Disney's implementation of DRAX Direct, a system allowing direct integration with major DSPs, supply-side platforms (SSPs) will continue to play a vital role in the entertainment giant's advertising setup, according to a recent Digiday report.

DRAX Direct facilitates streamlined buying processes for large advertisers. However, Rita Ferro, president of Disney Advertising, emphasizes that SSPs remain crucial for aggregating demand and reaching smaller advertisers, particularly within the growing connected TV (CTV) market.

“Historically, we did it all through Magnite, and we will continue to work through Magnite,” Ferro stated, highlighting Disney's ongoing partnership with the SSP. She clarified that Disney will likely pursue direct DSP integrations only with the biggest players, Google and The Trade Desk, due to their scale.

The Digiday report supports this approach, citing an Advertiser Perceptions survey from July 2023. Nearly half of surveyed publishers indicated they have direct DSP partnerships but underscored that these relationships don't replace collaborations with SSPs.