The JW Player product team has just launched a new set of features that make it easier for customers to amplify revenue potential on long form content. The new Ad Scheduling interface and Ad Tag Manager enables you to quickly create and manage complex ad schedules. Powered by a brand new Ad Scheduling API, the Ad Schedule builder in the dashboard opens up the opportunity to create mid-roll and post-roll ads, and then easily apply those schedules to cloud-hosted players.
Creating a mid-roll ad break is as easy as adding a tag, which is then automatically saved to the Ad Tag manager, and setting the break timing in seconds, timecode, or % of video. You can optionally customize the mid-roll ad break further by adding waterfall tags to maximize fill rate, and setting a custom skip offset for each break. Waterfall tags can be re-arranged by dragging and dropping into a new position. It’s also easy to force a overlay ad slot. Simply check the box on the mid-roll ad break and the player will know to expect a non-linear ad in this position.
Once an ad schedule is created, with just a few more clicks you can easily associate a JW Player Ad Schedule with a player, by selecting the option in the Advertising menu in the Player Builder. Using cloud-hosted players and schedules enables you to make updates to players and schedules on-the-fly from within the JW Player dashboard, after they are embedded on your site. Need to switch out a tag or add a new break? Simply edit and save your Ad Schedule, and your players and schedules will be live updated, seamless to your end viewers.
Some of the first users of this functionality are already seeing an additional lift of 30-40% in ad impressions per day.
Hungry for more? The product team has lots of exciting ads feature updates planned for the remainder of 2016 including custom ad cue tracks, configurable at the content level so that you can customize mid-roll breaks at opportune points in your long form videos, and an intuitive ad tag macro manager to allow for improved targeting for each tag.
JW Player is invested in the success of our customers, and we are excited to offer these enhancements that enable you to maximize your advertising revenue. Let us know what you think by leaving a comment below.