Server-side video ad insertion outflanks browser-based ad blockers

Publishers relying on client-side ad delivery remain exposed to ad-blocking losses, while those adopting server-side video ad insertion can bypass blockers entirely by stitching ads into the encoded stream. In the broader streaming ecosystem, this aligns with the industry's shift toward SSAI and server-guided ad insertion (SGAI) for both live and VOD content, where ads are stitched server-side before delivery. Watch for SGAI production deployment rates as a signal of whether the industry is converging on this countermeasure.

The scale of ad blocking has grown substantially since the article's 2016 publication. Per eyeo's 2026 Ad-blocking Report (May 2026), global ad-blocking users surpassed 1.1 billion in Q4 2025, a 13% increase since 2023, representing roughly 30% of the global internet population. Mobile ad-blocking drove the growth, up 27% since 2023 to 629 million users, while desktop ad-blocking declined 4% to 448 million. The report also cites an eyeo-Harris Poll finding that 81% of internet users expressed concern about data collection for targeted advertising.

A separate dimension has emerged in the form of "dark traffic." Per a 2025 Ad-Shield study reported by Press Gazette (2025), 976 million users globally generate ad-blocked traffic invisible to publisher analytics, representing 18% of all web traffic—up from 590 million in 2019. Notably, 57% of these users did not actively choose to block ads; ad-blocking was activated by third parties such as workplace IT departments, security software, or public Wi-Fi providers. Ad-Shield projects this figure will reach 1.1 billion users in 2026.

The streaming industry's response has centered on server-side ad insertion (SSAI) and its successor, server-guided ad insertion (SGAI). Per an AWS blog post (2025), SSAI bypasses ad blockers by stitching ads into the video stream server-side before delivery, and a 2023 Conviva study found content completion rates 5–10% higher with server-side ads. At Streaming Media Connect in May 2025, panelists from Google, Paramount, and IAB Tech Lab discussed SGAI as a hybrid approach combining SSAI's ad-blocking resilience with CSAI's real-time personalization. Bitmovin's Jacob Arends told Streaming Learning Center that SGAI adoption remains in early stages, with broader production deployment expected in 2025 and beyond, and the SVTA working group actively developing standardization.