Sovrn eliminates SSP Revenue share, publishers save 48% on ad tech fees
Revolutionary pricing model helps publishers retain more revenue from programmatic advertising through flat CPM fees.
On October 14, 2024, reported by AdExchanger, Sovrn announced a change to its pricing model, eliminating revenue sharing for publishers using its sales house product. The initiative addresses a critical issue in programmatic advertising where publishers typically receive only 36 cents of every media dollar spent through demand-side platforms (DSPs).
According to Peter Cunha, Managing Director at Sovrn, publishers using the company's header bidding managed service, known as Ad Management, now pay a flat monthly software fee based on impression volume. The pricing structure represents a departure from traditional percentage-based revenue sharing models common among competitors like Raptive and Mediavine.
Big milestone today here @sovrnholdings - 3 years of blood, sweat, tears and we can finally talk about it.
— Peter Cunha (@PeterBCunha) October 14, 2024
It works like this: Pubs get $0.36 of the media dollar in modern programmatic so we eliminated rev shares for publishers using our sales house product...
Technical implementation details
The Ad Management platform includes several technical capabilities:
- Header bidding optimization tools available on a self-serve basis
- Wrapper adjustments and A/B testing functionality
- Auction timeout settings configuration
- Lazy loading implementation for non-viewable inventory
- Dynamic pricing floor management
- Page-level auction consolidation
Performance metrics and results
The implementation data reveals significant improvements:
- Publishers transitioning from revenue share models saved an average of 48% in ad tech fees
- Standard publishers pay approximately seven cents per impression through Sovrn's SSP
- High-volume publishers qualify for even lower per-impression rates
- Testing over a 12+ month period showed minimum 10% higher yield from programmatic auctions
Publisher case study
IXL Learning, which operates Dictionary.com and Thesaurus.com, implemented Ad Management in January 2024. According to Dan Kort, Senior Product Manager at IXL Learning, the platform enabled efficient SSP testing without overwhelming their ad operations and engineering teams. The company reported exceeding revenue expectations during implementation.
Technology infrastructure
The platform's optimization tools are built on technology acquired through Sovrn's purchase of Proper Media in 2021. The system leverages insights from:
- Prebid seats
- Amazon TAM
- Google Open Bidding
- Over 120 demand partner connections
Key Facts
- Announcement Date: October 14, 2024
- Average Publisher Revenue Pre-Solution: 36 cents per media dollar
- Fee Reduction: 48% average savings
- Implementation Period: Over 12 months of testing
- Number of Demand Partners: 120+
- Cost Structure: Flat CPM based on impression volume
- Minimum Yield Improvement: 10%
- Platform Launch: Self-serve software release
- Core Technology: Based on 2021 Proper Media acquisition
- Integration Points: Prebid, Amazon TAM, Google Open Bidding