Inventory Type

There are various kinds of audio publishers in the Triton Digital ad exchange. The main two are:

AM/FM broadcasters;
Online music services (also known as "Pureplay music streaming").

AM/FM Broadcasters

These publishers own a radio broadcasting license from a governmental agency such as the FCC (in the US).

The content made by radio stations can be delivered in three ways:

Over The Air (OTA), i.e. FM or AM transmission;
Online Stream;
Podcast (replay of previous OTA/Online Stream shows).

AM/FM - Over The Air (OTA)

Triton's OTA specification is described here.

Online Stream

The live program is captured at the studio and the program feed is sent to a Content Delivery Network (CDN) which can be the Triton Streaming Network or another provider.

The program feed includes the broadcast ad breaks which, in the Online Stream, are replaced by digital ads specific to each streaming listener. In most cases, the ad replacement is done by the streaming server in the CDN, as the property used to access the stream (web site, mobile app, or smart speaker) may not be under the control of the broadcaster, such as when a stream aggregator like TuneIn or Radioplayer is used. This is referred to ad stitching, SSAI (server-side ad insertion) or DAI (dynamic ad insertion).

Advertising space for these publishers is referred to as In-Stream inventory.

ad-insertion-InStream

Pureplay Music Streaming

Pureplay publishers don't have a license for on-air (terrestrial) broadcasting, and are digital-only publishers. Instead of a common program, each listener gets customized content. Pureplay players retrieve each piece of content independently.

Advertising space for pureplay publishers is referred to as OnDemand inventory.

ad-insertion-OnDemand

There are a few cases where Pureplay publishers don't create on-demand content, but have many channels for users to choose from. These publishers are classified as InStream publishers if they use Triton Digital's Streaming Platform.

Stations, Formats, and Genres

Publishers in the Triton Digital Ad Exchange have either one or multiple stations (similar to "sites" in display advertising). Typically, AM/FM broadcasters will have multiple stations (in North America, stations are specific to a regional market) while Pureplay publishers usually have a single station.

AM/FM broadcaster (InStream) inventory is categorized by radio format. Each station is assigned one or multiple formats.

Pureplay stations don't have specific formats as each listener chooses their own content. Instead, their player provides the music genre of the song that plays before the requested ad.