Publica has unveiled an A/B testing tool designed for connected TV (CTV) publishers to improve ad yield. The tool enables testing of specific bidder parameters including bid floors, ad durations, and podded requests compatible with OpenRTB 2.6.
The shift toward programmatic CTV has outpaced the development of specialized yield management tools, often forcing publishers to apply legacy display tactics to high-value video inventory. By enabling A/B testing at the pod level, Publica allows publishers to move away from 'set-and-forget' floors toward data-driven optimizations that respect the nuances of linear-style ad breaks. This capability is critical as the industry pivots to OpenRTB 2.6, which standardizes how multi-ad pods are transacted. Watch for whether this granular control leads to a measurable decrease in 'unfilled' durations within premium ad pods by the end of 2026.
Publica has expanded its CTV ad serving footprint significantly since the A/B testing launch. The company, now owned by Integral Ad Science, renewed and deepened its multi-year global partnership with Samsung Ads in 2025, adding advanced pod decisioning, comprehensive alternative ID support, and more robust APIs to the existing unified auction infrastructure that powers Samsung TV Plus, which reaches 88 million monthly active users across more than 3,500 channels globally. Samsung Ads uses Publica's smart ad pod decisioning to offer advertisers first-pod placement and category exclusivity, capabilities that build on the same pod-level optimization logic the A/B testing tool introduced.
On the demand side, Publica by IAS integrated with Viant Technology's Direct Access supply path product, enabling Viant advertisers to buy premium CTV inventory from publishers running on the Publica platform. The integration simplifies campaign activation across streaming environments and improves transparency for buyers, complementing the seller-side yield controls that the A/B testing suite provides. Publica also partnered with Atresmedia, Spain's leading broadcaster, to run a unified auction for its premium streaming ad inventory, extending the company's European footprint and demonstrating demand for pod-level decisioning tools beyond the U.S. market.
The A/B testing tool sits within a broader industry shift toward OpenRTB 2.6 adoption for CTV transactions. The IAB Tech Lab's specification introduced dynamic pod bidding, precise slot descriptions, and revenue-per-second metrics specifically for connected TV auctions. Publica serves over 6 billion CTV ads monthly across clients including Samsung, MLB, Paramount, Crunchyroll, Fox, IGN, Philo, and XUMO, giving the company substantial data volume to inform the A/B testing framework's recommendations as OpenRTB 2.6 rolls out across connected SSP partners.
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