Other ad buyers have seen similar results.
A second media buying source said that for 30 days from mid-June to mid-July, Pluto TV via sell-side tech partner Magnite sent out 101.8 billion bid requests in a deal. Over that same time period, AMC Networks sent just 7.8 billion bid requests through Magnite, and Warner Bros. Discovery sent less than 6 billion bid requests through Magnite.
A May report from programmatic consultancy Jounce Media said Pluto TV accounts for 22% of all CTV bid requests, far more than any other streaming service.
This volume is notable because Pluto TV has less watch time than other streamers. In the U.S. in June, Pluto accounted for 0.8% of watch streaming and TV time, according to the latest Nielsen figures. Warner Bros. Discovery-owned Max made up 1.4% of watch time, Roku Channel accounted for 1.5% of watch time, and Tubi accounted for 2% of watch time.
The Pluto TV source said Nielsen measures audiences, not ad inventory, and claimed Pluto has more inventory than other streamers because it has both live and video-on-demand channels.
To be sure, Pluto TV isn’t the only streaming service that works with tech partners to send out multiple bids, according to the Jounce report and ADWEEK’s sources. The Jounce report noted that Pluto TV used to account for more than half of real-time bidding auctions for connected TV supply in early 2022, but that has decreased over the last year as other streamers are doing bid duplication.
Tricking the algorithms
Ad-buying platforms can have trouble distinguishing the difference between a publisher with lots of bid requests and lots of actual viewers, buyers said. Ad buyers have noticed they inadvertently spend more on Pluto than they want because they use automation to purchase ads based on audience size.
“Pluto will eat your money if you don’t manage it,” said a buyer source.
Typically, no single publisher should make up more than 10% to 15% of a media plan, another ad buyer told ADWEEK.
Yet, as this person started purchasing more CTV programmatically in 2022, Pluto soon was winning 50% of many clients’ budgets, despite only representing 5% to 10% of the unique audiences clients were reaching.
Another ad buyer said that earlier this year, Pluto TV was taking up more than half of its clients’ budgets.
Buyers also have found they are paying more for Pluto impressions compared to other streaming services.
Streamers set a floor price for their online auctions, or the lowest bid they’re willing to take. For example, on Pluto, the average winning bid for one client was usually 55% above the floor, the buyer source said. By comparison, the winning bid for Tubi ads is usually 11% above the floor, and the winning bids for Sling TV ads are usually 29% above the floor.
