Direct-sold deals vs programmatic: the floor under your auction

Direct-sold deals vs programmatic: the floor under your auction

Benchmark drop. CPM by sales channel, premium niche (n=35 publishers):

— Direct-sold (sponsor) $▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮ 12-30
— Programmatic Guaranteed $▮▮▮▮▮▮ 8-15
— Preferred Deals (PMP) $▮▮▮▮▮ 5-10
— Open auction $▮▮▮ 1.5-4

Direct deals pay multiples of open programmatic but cost sales effort and need scale to attract buyers. Below ~500k monthly pageviews, no advertiser negotiates directly — programmatic is your only realistic channel.

As you grow, layer a Private Marketplace (PMP) to capture mid-tier premium without a full sales team.

So what: Adding PMP deals above open auction — blended CPM ▲ 18%.