Glossary/Programmatic/Programmatic advertising
What is programmatic advertising and how does it work?
How programmatic advertising works, who does what in the chain, and the deal types publishers use.
Written by Samhub with the help of AI·Updated 13 Oct 2026·3 min readProgrammatic advertising is the automated buying and selling of ad space through software, often impression by impression in real-time auctions.
How it works
A reader opens a page
The site sends an ad request.
The SSP offers the impression
With page and audience signals.
DSPs bid
On behalf of advertisers.
The best bid wins
And the ad is shown, in milliseconds.
Deal types
| Deal | Who can buy | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Open auction | Any buyer | Auction |
| Private marketplace | Invited buyers | Auction with floor |
| Preferred deal | One buyer | Fixed |
| Programmatic guaranteed | One buyer | Fixed, guaranteed volume |
16 pages for publishers, with a checklist for data, programmatic and direct sales.
Where publishers win
Programmatic makes inventory easy to buy at scale, but anonymous inventory sells at market price. Audience data and deals are how publishers lift prices above the open auction.
CPM uplift at Stampen Media after activating first-party audiences with Samhub.
Frequently asked questions
RTB is one part of programmatic. Fixed-price deals are programmatic too.
Most of it, in most markets.
Yes, through SSPs or ad networks.
Related terms
An auction for every single impression.
The software advertisers use to buy impressions.
The software publishers use to sell impressions.
Invite-only auctions for premium inventory.
How publishers sell through programmatic.
Samhub audiences let you set higher floors and win more data deals, in every channel you sell.
- A walkthrough with your own data
- Built for publishers and media houses
- 30 minutes, no commitment
Turn your audience data into more revenue
Get the Media Monetization Playbook: how media houses turn first-party data into higher CPMs, data deals and direct sales. With checklists for every step.
