Module 2: Video & Audio Ad Technology
Implement both client-side (Google IMA SDK) and server-side (SSAI/MediaTailor) ad insertion, understand the SCTE-35/104 marker chain from encoder to player, and reason about header bidding at a systems level. Capstone: an SSAI ad break via SCTE-35.
Prerequisites
- Completion of Module 1 (Video Player Engineering) or equivalent working knowledge of HLS/DASH manifests and MSE playback
- Comfortable reading XML (VAST is XML-based)
Learning Outcomes
By the end, you can implement both client-side (IMA SDK) and server-side (SSAI/MediaTailor) ad insertion, understand the SCTE-35/104 marker chain from encoder to player, and reason about header bidding at a systems level.
Weekly Curriculum
Week 1Ad Tech Fundamentals
The ad you skipped after 5 seconds still got tracked six different ways — here's the spec behind it.
IAB spec landscape — VAST, VMAP, VPAID. Ad pods and fallback ads. Waterfall vs header bidding conceptually. Lab: read and hand-construct a VAST 4.0 response with a linear ad and tracking events.
Week 2Client-Side Ad Insertion (CSAI)
This is the layer that decides whether your pre-roll plays cleanly — or breaks the stream entirely.
Google IMA SDK architecture, integrating IMA with an HLS.js/Shaka player, CTV-specific CSAI constraints, tracking pixels and viewability (MRC standard). Lab: integrate IMA SDK into a player, instrument quartile tracking.
Week 3Server-Side Ad Insertion (SSAI)
The reason CTV ads can't be skipped isn't a UI restriction — it's baked into the manifest itself.
Why SSAI (ad blocker resistance, seamless CTV playback). AWS MediaTailor architecture, SCTE-35/SCTE-104 marker chain, ad stitching and session-based personalization. Lab: stand up MediaTailor against a VOD source with SCTE-35 markers.
Week 4Header Bidding, Podcast Ads & Capstone
Real money changes hands in the milliseconds before a video even starts loading.
Prebid.js integration pattern, RTB flow at a systems level, podcast dynamic ad insertion economics, measurement/attribution. Capstone: implement an SSAI ad break using MediaTailor + SCTE-35 on a live-style stream.
Who It's For
OTT/AVOD Platforms
Engineers building or maintaining ad-supported streaming products who need to own the SSAI/CSAI stack, not just wire up a vendor.
Broadcasters
Teams inserting ads into live and VOD content who need to understand the SCTE-35 marker chain end to end.
Ad Tech / Monetization Engineers
Engineers working adjacent to programmatic/header bidding who want the video-specific ad delivery layer filled in.
Continue Your Track
Pricing
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