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Amagi THUNDERSTORM is a server-side ad insertion platform that enables dynamic and contextual ad delivery. 

Amagi THUNDERSTORM supports in-content ad units, overlays, and real-time metadata for enhanced viewer engagement and monetization. It maximizes fill rates while delivering seamless ad experiences to viewers across devices. Amagi THUNDERSTORM's "zero-slate" technology dynamically adjusts the length of ad breaks on a per-viewer basis, eliminating the need for slates or filler to round out linear ad breaks.

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Personalized, contextual ad delivery

Amagi THUNDERSTORM is one of the few cloud-based advertising platforms globally offering context-aware server-side ad insertion capabilities, allowing customers to manage, target, and scale advertising across a broad set of formats from a single interface.
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Capabilities

Maximize ROI from your live, linear, and VOD libraries.

Automated ad detection

Utilize industry-standard triggers to detect and replace ads using machine learning in the absence of ad triggers.

Scalable architecture

Enable hyperscale concurrency to serve millions of users simultaneously with manipulated manifest files.

Network ad sourcing

Source ads from any network supporting VAST 2.0 and later specifications.

Robust analytics data

Integrate with Amagi ANALYTICS to derive meaningful insights from content viewership and ad performance metrics.

Real-time statistics

Real-time stats on ad detection, impressions, users, sessions, geography, and ad network performance.

Data protection and privacy

Non-linear ad formats, automatic ad detections, Dynamic Brand Insertions (DBI), and contextual video advertising.

The Amagi difference

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Linear OTT channels
Offer programmatic monetization through ad revenues for OTT publishers and Free Ad-supported Streaming TV (FAST) platforms.
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VOD content providers
Serve mid-roll, pre-roll, and post-roll ads while playing VOD assets delivered to OTT web applications or program distribution platforms.
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Live event producers
Deliver to tens of millions of simultaneous viewers using high concurrency ‘hyperscale’ functionality.
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“This partnership is an important milestone in our goal to create an effective, scalable and future-facing operations in the cloud that is well positioned in our supply chain. It allows us greater flexibility to manage our evolving EMEA portfolio.”
Case Study
Matt Westrup - Vice President of Technology & Operations, A+E Networks® EMEA
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Frequently Asked Questions

If you have additional questions, get in touch

In ad detection using fingerprint matching, what happens if a shorter version of an existing ad is served? For example, a 20-second Nike ad is initially played. Later, a 10-second version is released, with the first 5 seconds unchanged. Will the system still recognize it as a match?

Yes. In the current system, it will be a match, but it will be flagged as a "duplicate" as two ads of different durations will respond positively, and hence, both will be discarded. This can be improved if we can track the ad until the end, which is on our product roadmap.

When the user has in-house ad sales, why do we need Google DFP? Can we completely get away from it?

Google DFP is mainly used as a campaign management system by everyone. Someone with in-house ad sales needs an ad server to manage and serve ad campaigns. It is a powerful campaign management system supporting integration with third-party ad networks.

What's the difference between the Small Business and Premium versions of Google DFP?

DFP Small Business is free for everyone but has a limited feature set. For example, it can only support in-house ad sales, cannot connect with third-party ad networks or connect with AdX. DFP Premium is an extensive campaign management system for tier-one customers. In our case, if the customer wants to use in-house ad sales, then they can use DFP small business and set a waterfall mechanism in Amagi THUNDERSTORM. However, most customers prefer to control ad decisioning on their own; hence, they use DFP, which provides a lot more flexibility and transparency in reporting.

Does AdX support SSAI? Can FAST platforms use both Amagi THUNDERSTORM and AdX, enabling both SSAI and Client-Side Ad Insertion (CSAI)?

AdX supports SSAI but only a specific version allowed by Google. Amagi THUNDERSTORM cannot integrate with AdX as it requires client-side SDK integration. Currently, AdX does not support third-party SSAI.

Can exclusivity and niche content drive 'Fill Rate'? Can we achieve high fill rates with niche content?

Fill Rate measures system performance based on the number of ad requests made. A low fill rate can still yield high monetization if the CPM is high, while a high fill rate can result in low monetization if the CPM is low. Demand is driven by the profile of users watching the content. A channel's value depends on its audience's appeal to advertisers. Even with high CPM, low viewership results in lower revenue. For example, 10,000 viewers at $10 CPM is better than 100,000 viewers at $2 CPM.

Does the fill rate depend on the channel/content or the platform? For example, on a vMVPD platform, if a user switches from "Channel A" (high ratings) to "Channel B" (lower ratings), does the ad network recognize this change? In other words, are impressions considered channel-wise or platform-wise?

Currently, Amagi is channel-agnostic while serving ad impressions.

What changes are done in the app installed at the end-user?

No changes are required on the client side since Amagi THUNDERSTORM only transmits the unified stream of content and ads.

What is the dependency of Amagi THUNDERSTORM on devices? We are testing it against multiple devices.

No dependencies exist as Amagi THUNDERSTORM is completely device-agnostic.

How many devices does Amagi THUNDERSTORM support now?

Amagi THUNDERSTORM is compatible with devices that can support OTT streams.

What's a VAST tag?

VAST tag is just an HTTP URL with query parameters containing user and content information.

What is the role of the player? Does the same app use different players for different OS/devices? How many players does Amagi THUNDERSTORM support, and which essential players does it not support?

It's the choice made by app developers. We support every leading player, including native players.

How do we calculate the impressions of the ads played?

When an ad is played, a beacon is fired and registered in the ad network system as an impression. We also perform quartile reporting, firing beacons at the start, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% completion. Additionally, we monitor creative view and viewability to ensure the ad networks register all necessary beacons.

Can we see the demo of the Amagi THUNDERSTORM UI and console?

Yes. The THUNDERSTORM UI and console are given to customers in a self-served model. Contact us to set-up a demo.

There are multiple formats of streams - RTMP, HLS, and MPEG DASH. Which one is preferred?

HLS is used for Apple devices and DASH for Android. Clients prefer DASH for Android as they want to use the native player and not a third-party player like Exoplayer. If someone uses Exoplayer in Android apps, they do not need DASH.