Unlocking Personalized Ads in Live Streaming
How MPEG-DASH Events and Server-Guided Ad Insertion are reshaping live ad delivery
The Problem: Ads and Live Streaming Don’t Mix Easily
Live streaming has become one of the fastest-growing ways to consume video — from sports and concerts to news and gaming. For advertisers, live events are especially attractive because they concentrate massive, engaged audiences in real time. Yet until recently, one stubborn problem has held back monetization: inserting ads seamlessly into live streams without ruining the viewing experience.
Traditional methods have their drawbacks. Client-side ad insertion (CSAI) requires the player to pause, fetch an ad, and then resume playback. Viewers often see buffering wheels, black screens, or audio mismatches. Server-side ad insertion (SSAI) is smoother because the ads are stitched into the stream before delivery, but it can limit personalization since every viewer gets the same feed. And both approaches struggle with latency, sometimes delaying the stream by 20–30 seconds compared to broadcast TV — a dealbreaker for sports or breaking news.
In short: advertisers want personalized, real-time ads in live streams, but the old tech made this nearly impossible without compromising the experience.
The Solution: MPEG-DASH Events + Server-Guided Ad Insertion
A new approach demonstrated by Yospace at IBC 2025 combines MPEG-DASH Events and Server-Guided Ad Insertion (SGAI) to solve these issues.
MPEG-DASH Events are metadata markers embedded in the video manifest. They signal exactly when an ad break is scheduled, aligned down to the segment. Think of them as time-coded “flags” saying, “Here’s where the ad should go.” These markers often originate from SCTE-35 cues inserted at the broadcast or encoder level and translated by the packager into DASH events.
Server-Guided Ad Insertion (SGAI) takes those markers and enables flexible, personalized ad delivery. Rather than hard-stitching ads into the stream (as with SSAI), the server monitors the live manifest and, as an ad marker approaches in the timeline, sends specific guidance to the client device: “At the upcoming marker, play Ad A, then Ad B, then return to the live feed.” This guidance is typically sent just before the ad break, giving the client enough time to preload the required ads so they’re ready to play instantly when the marker is reached.
This hybrid model preserves the seamless feel of server-side stitching while enabling the personalization of client-side insertion. And because ads are preloaded ahead of time, the dreaded buffering wheel disappears.
How It Works in Practice: A Football Timeout Example
Imagine it’s the fourth quarter, and one team calls a timeout. Everyone watching knows: ads are coming up next.
Cues in the Feed: As soon as the timeout is called, the broadcaster’s system inserts an SCTE-35 signal into the live video feed. This digital “flag” tells downstream systems, “An ad break is about to happen.”
Packager Conversion: The video packager receives that SCTE-35 cue and converts it into an MPEG-DASH Event, embedding this marker into the video manifest (MPD) that all streaming players use to know what’s coming up in the stream.
Manifest Delivery: Your streaming app (on your phone, smart TV, or laptop) fetches the updated manifest, which now includes a precise marker for the upcoming ad break—right at the moment the timeout starts.
Server Guidance: As the ad break approaches, the ad server quickly decides which ads are best for you (maybe a pizza ad for one viewer, a car ad for another) based on targeting data. The server sends instructions to your device: “At this marker, play Ad X, then Ad Y, then return to the game.”
Preloading Ads: Your device quietly fetches and preloads the assigned ads in the background, so they’re ready to go the instant the timeout begins.
Seamless Switch: When the live stream hits the ad marker (right as the players head to the sidelines), your device instantly switches to the preloaded ads. As soon as the timeout ends, you’re dropped right back into the live action—no buffering, no awkward pauses, no missing the next play.
In this scenario, MPEG-DASH Events handle the “when and where” of the ad break (the timeout), while Server-Guided Ad Insertion (SGAI) manages the “what and how” (which ads you see, and how they’re delivered). The result: a smooth, personalized ad experience that keeps pace with the game.
The Benefits
This approach brings three major advantages:
Low Latency: By preloading ads, Yospace demonstrated sub-5 second cumulative latency — close to broadcast standards. For live sports or breaking news, this means viewers won’t hear about a goal on Twitter before seeing it on their screen.
Personalization at Scale: Because the server decides which ads each viewer should receive, advertisers can still target by demographics, behavior, or context. Viewer A sees a sneaker ad, while Viewer B sees groceries, all in the same moment of the live stream.
Better Viewer Experience: No buffering wheels, awkward cuts, or mismatched audio. Ads appear smoothly and naturally, preserving the quality of the live event.
Future Impacts on the Ad Ecosystem
If adopted widely, MPEG-DASH Events + SGAI could redefine how live content is monetized:
Premium Live Inventory Becomes Addressable: Sports, concerts, and real-time news — traditionally sold in bulk with limited targeting — could now deliver personalized ad experiences without breaking the broadcast feel.
Advertisers Gain Confidence: Brands hesitant to invest in live streaming because of quality concerns will find a platform that balances reach, precision, and user experience.
Publishers Unlock More Revenue: Broadcasters and streaming platforms can charge higher CPMs for addressable live ads, capturing value that was previously limited to digital display or on-demand video.
Cross-Device Consistency: Because MPEG-DASH is a standards-based protocol, this approach can work across smart TVs, set-top boxes, mobile apps, and web players, ensuring consistent delivery.
Looking ahead, the combination of standards like MPEG-DASH Events with hybrid models like SGAI could become the default playbook for live streaming ad tech. As latency shrinks and personalization scales, live content may finally become the premium digital ad environment marketers have long wanted.
In summary
The old trade-off between personalization, latency, and experience is starting to fade. With MPEG-DASH Events and Server-Guided Ad Insertion, advertisers may soon be able to have it all: live audiences, addressable targeting, and broadcast-quality delivery.