Viant Technology is sharpening its edge in connected TV (CTV) advertising with a major upgrade to its Direct Access program—this time through a direct integration with Magnite’s SpringServe video ad platform. The move aims to simplify how ads travel from buyers to screens, cutting out layers of unnecessary intermediaries in a market where every millisecond and margin point counts.
At its core, this integration creates a cleaner, more direct supply path: advertisers using Viant’s DSP now tap straight into SpringServe’s ad server. The sell? More transparency, better control, and fewer toll booths along the way. For an industry increasingly allergic to opacity—and still dealing with the gravitational pull of walled gardens—that’s a meaningful shift.
Why This Matters
The CTV market is booming, with U.S. ad spend expected to top $30 billion in 2025. With that growth comes pressure: advertisers want more performance; publishers want more yield; both want fewer black boxes. Supply path optimization (SPO) has quickly shifted from a technical curiosity to a strategic must-have.
Viant’s pitch fits squarely into that trend. The SpringServe integration is designed to give advertisers faster access to premium video inventory, smarter impression routing, and more measurable outcomes for performance-driven campaigns. Publishers, meanwhile, get clearer visibility into who’s buying their inventory—and stronger control over how it’s monetized.
Tom Wolfe, Viant’s SVP of Business Development, framed it as a win against the industry’s walled gardens, highlighting how the partnership reinforces “advertiser choice” and supports a more open internet. It’s a familiar talking point, but the underlying tension is real: as big platforms tighten their ecosystems, independent ad tech players are making interoperability their competitive weapon.
How It Works Behind the Scenes
SpringServe’s mediation layer helps unify monetization levers for publishers, giving them the ability to manage demand sources without sacrificing control. With Viant plugging directly into that system, the buying path becomes more efficient—less signal loss, fewer hops, and clearer attribution trails.
For publishers like LG Ad Solutions, the benefits are immediate: transparent buyer relationships, better inventory protection, and more confidence that media spend actually reaches their screens. With rising scrutiny on ad waste and fraud, that’s no small perk.
Magnite’s leadership echoed the symbiotic dynamic: advertisers get more performance and control, and publishers get stronger demand. In other words, it’s the kind of marketplace balancing act CTV desperately needs as fragmentation grows.
The Bigger Picture
This isn’t just another integration announcement—it reflects a broader shift among open-internet players to counter consolidated ecosystems with interoperability, accountability, and SPO-led performance. As competition intensifies, the companies that streamline workflows and reduce friction will be the ones shaping CTV’s next phase.
Viant’s partnership with SpringServe positions it squarely in that camp, signaling how demand-side platforms (DSPs) are evolving to meet the dual demands of transparency and efficiency. For advertisers navigating an increasingly complex CTV ecosystem, a bit more clarity could go a long way.
