Note: Unless otherwise noted, frequency caps in TAP are are based on one-to-one impressions delivery. For example, when a frequency cap is described as delivering "once per break" or "once per day," that means once per break/day per unique listener.
The table below outlines some of the details on each of the duration types that you can select when adding frequency caps.
Duration
Applicable Delivery Method
Notes
Hours
Live, On-demand, Podcast
1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8 or 12.
Days
Live, On-demand, Podcast
Between 1-28.
Weeks
Live, On-demand, Podcast
Between 1-4.
Lifetime
Live, On-demand, Podcast
When you select this time setting, a preset value of "1" is applied.
Break
Live, On-demand, Podcast
When you select this time setting, a preset value of "1" is applied.
Download
Podcast
When you select this time setting, a preset value of "1" is applied.
Flight-level frequency caps (set in the flight) and advertiser-level ad separation (set per-advertiser, in their advertiser profile) both affect delivery. The resulting separation is set by the largest cap in effect (i.e., greater restriction). For example, you can have a flight for an advertiser set with IAB1-1 where the industry separation is one per break, and the flight's frequency cap is one per day. As a result, the flight will only deliver once per day (per unique listener) because that is the greater restriction.
Frequency caps are linked to the listener’s listener ID. In live streaming, the listener ID is established via the connection string when they connect to the stream. For on-demand audio the listener ID is sent with each ad request. For detailed information about how this works, consult the Triton Digital Streaming Specification and the Triton Digital On-Demand Specification.
Capping applies to all listening sessions identified for that specific listener and is applied in real time. So if a listener listens in the morning and hears an ad and then listens again later in the day, they will immediately be eligible to hear an ad capped at once per hour, even if their first listening session was only 15 minutes long.
Frequency caps have a dramatic impact on deliverability, so you should always use the minimum number and shortest caps you can apply.
Capping will always follow the strictest cap you have in place. So if you have a 4x per hour cap, with a 12x per lifetime cap, the flight cannot serve more than 4 times in an hour for a unique listener, and no more than 12 times for the duration of the flight.
Caps are not related to pacing; they work on a "number of impressions (per listener) per defined time period." Your flight cap should be set to match the client's desired maximum exposure, not as a way to design custom pacing.
Frequency caps for CPS-based flights are described in CPS (Spot-based) Flights.
As of July 18, 2024, frequency caps for Podcast Delivery method are no longer on a per-connection basis; they operate per unique listener, as for other delivery methods. (Exception: in the case of simultaneous multiple downloads, frequency capping might not always work as expected.) Also, podcast frequency caps can be set per download (see next note).
Podcast capping can be download-based (per download). If your flight delivers to podcasts as well as live-stream or on-demand, you should add a separate per-download cap, as time-based caps (per hour, per day, etc.) are not recognized by podcast delivery within a given download. For example, when a listener downloads a single episode, time-based frequency caps are irrelevant. However, if the listener downloads more episodes within the time-based frequency cap’s defined period (for example if the cap is 1 impression per hour, and the listener makes three separate downloads within that hour), then the time-based frequency cap is in effect for those separate downloads. Within each individual download, however, only the per-download frequency cap is in effect.
