This is an important step when setting up advertising. Many advertising platforms support both advertisers who buy ad space and publishers who sell ad space.
Choosing the wrong side when signing up can result in an account that isn’t configured for your intended use.
Which side are you?
Ask yourself:
Do you own an audience, or are you trying to reach someone else’s audience?
If you operate the stream, channel, application, or live event and own the audience, you are the supply side, also known as the publisher.
Your goal is to monetize your audience by showing advertisements to your viewers. Therefore, you are looking for demand to fill your advertising slots.
You are not the demand side unless you are an advertiser trying to promote your own product to someone else’s audience.
Understanding the terminology
The advertising terminology can sometimes be confusing.
| What you want to do | Your role |
|---|---|
| Sell your advertising space and get paid | Supply / Publisher |
| Buy advertising space to promote your product | Demand / Advertiser |
| Use an SSP, ad server, or publisher monetization platform | Supply / Publisher |
For example:
- You want to sell your ad space → You want to get paid for showing ads → You are supply/publisher.
- You want to buy ad space → You want to spend money to advertise → You are demand/advertiser.
- You want a platform to help monetize your inventory → Look for an SSP, ad server, or publisher/monetization product.
How should I sign up with an ad company?
When contacting an advertising company, clearly explain that you are a publisher.
You can say:
“I’m a publisher. I own the audience and the streaming inventory. I’m looking for demand — I want you to provide ads that I can insert into my stream and get paid for. I am not looking to buy ad space.”
If the company offers both buy-side and sell-side products, ask them to configure your account on the publisher / supply / monetization side.
Also confirm that they can provide a VAST endpoint that you can give to your streaming provider.
What is 5centsCDN’s role?
5centsCDN is neither the buyer nor the seller of advertisements.
You, as the publisher, provide the demand source. 5centsCDN provides the streaming and ad-insertion technology required to insert the advertisements into your stream and deliver them to viewers.
The advertising relationship and revenue remain between you, your demand source, and the advertisers. 5centsCDN charges for the infrastructure and insertion technology.
