The ANA's 2024 Programmatic Transparency Benchmark and subsequent quarterly data indicate that only 45.1% of programmatic ad spend reaches working media, with the remainder lost to transaction costs and productivity inefficiencies. The report suggests that advertisers are increasingly turning to supply path optimization and simpler tech stacks to mitigate these significant supply chain leakages.
The persistent leakage in the supply chain indicates that current supply path optimization (SPO) efforts are merely managing complexity rather than eliminating it. For streaming platforms and digital publishers, this inefficiency creates a massive delta between what an advertiser pays and what the media owner receives, incentivizing a shift toward direct deals and curated marketplaces. As buyers realize that nearly 55 cents of every dollar fails to reach the consumer, the value proposition of walled gardens—which trade transparency for simplified, bundled pricing—becomes increasingly attractive to risk-averse brands. Watch for a contraction in the number of SSPs per publisher as buyers consolidate spend behind paths with verifiable fee structures.
The ANA's Q2 2026 benchmark reveals that only 45.1% of programmatic ad spend reaches working media, as transaction costs and productivity losses consume the remainder. This inefficiency highlights persistent supply chain leakage, prompting brands to reconsider complex programmatic paths in favor of direct deals and more transparent, consolidated marketplace strategies.
According to the ANA's Q2 2026 benchmark, only 45.1% of programmatic ad spend reaches working media.
Transaction costs account for 29.8% of total spend, while media productivity inefficiencies drain an additional 26.3%. Furthermore, 3% of spend remains completely unaccounted for in recent studies.
Research by Adalytics identified extreme fee volatility, noting that a single supply-side platform (SSP) could charge between 7% and 42% for identical site and buyer profiles.
Because nearly 55 cents of every dollar fails to reach the media owner, brands are seeking more transparency. Walled gardens are becoming more attractive because they offer simplified, bundled pricing compared to the complex and inefficient programmatic supply chain.
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