For years, premium news publishers have been told they need to compete in the open marketplace, plugging into as many demand networks and resellers as possible to “maximise fill” and “increase eCPM.” But as supply path optimisation (SPO) and auction dynamics become more widely understood, it’s clear that many legacy publishers have been sold a flawed strategy. Outsourcing demand to networks and remnant partners isn’t just inefficient; it actively erodes long-term revenue and devalues inventory in the eyes of the market.
If you’re running a multi-site publishing network, you need control. You need visibility. And you need a strategy that prioritises your long-term financial health over short-term eCPM fluctuations. Let’s break down exactly why that means owning your ad tech ecosystem, not renting it out.
The Problem with Outsourcing Demand in an Age of Supply Path Optimisation
At first glance, offloading unsold inventory to ad networks or remnant partners sounds like an easy win. You get “guaranteed” fill, another bidder in the auction and theoretically more competition. But the reality is very different.
- Auction integrity breaks down
When you let a reseller sit high in the auction, you’re effectively outsourcing control of your own bidding process. Instead of demand sources competing in a single, unified auction, resellers often rerun their own auctions outside your control. This creates a redundant bidding loop where your most valuable partners are artificially blocked from bidding at market price. - Your inventory is repackaged and resold
Many networks take impressions that should have been won in your direct auction, sell them to third parties and pocket the margin. This inflates supply chain complexity, reduces transparency and means your impressions might be showing up in buyers’ reports under someone else’s brand. - The wrong signals are sent to demand partners
Advertisers and DSPs rely on pricing signals to assess inventory quality. When you allow a reseller to sit at a fixed price, you’re distorting market signals, making it appear as though demand is artificially high. Over time, this can reduce bid density and lower competition across your entire stack. - Artificial fill rates mask the problem
Ad networks love to talk about their “fill rates,” but this metric is often misleading. When a reseller takes an impression, Google Ad Manager counts it as a sale even if the ad never actually serves. The result? Inflated fill rate metrics that make it seem like revenue is stable, when in reality valuable impressions are being wasted on blank ads or low-quality demand.
The Business Case for Keeping Control
If you’re serious about long-term revenue growth, you need to move away from resellers and focus on owning your ad supply chain. Here’s why premium publishers should be doubling down on in-house ad tech.
1. Unified Auctions Mean Higher Real Yields
When all bidders compete in a single, unified auction, market forces dictate pricing. You’re no longer losing high-value impressions to external auctions, and DSPs see a clear, transparent path to your inventory. The result? Higher bid density, more competition and stronger revenue stability.
2. Supply Path Optimisation (SPO) Favours Direct Publishers
Major DSPs and agencies are aggressively cutting unnecessary middlemen to improve efficiency. If your inventory is being resold through multiple layers of exchanges, it’s far less likely to win premium programmatic spend. Supply path optimisation is not just another ad tech buzzword. Advertisers want direct paths to supply, and owning your ad tech puts you in the best position to deliver that.
3. Page Performance and User Experience Improve
In our testing, ad networks had 3x the browser memory usage of publishers running their own controlled auction environments. Why? Because when a reseller operates within your stack, they often run separate auctions within each ad unit, dramatically increasing latency, memory bloat and failed impressions. A streamlined, publisher-controlled ecosystem reduces bloat and improves user experience, core web vitals and ad viewability.
What Premium Publishers Should Do Next
If you’re currently outsourcing large portions of your demand, it’s time to reassess your strategy. This isn’t about shutting off remnant partners entirely—it’s about ensuring they remain where they belong: as true last-look buyers, not major auction participants.
- Audit your current demand mix – How much revenue is actually coming from direct demand vs. resellers?
- Assess the impact of artificial bid floors – Are you blocking legitimate demand in favour of fixed-price resellers?
- Run a controlled test – Compare performance when demand is consolidated within a single auction vs. when resellers are prioritised.
The takeaway? Your ad inventory is a premium product. Treat it like one. The more control you have, the more leverage you hold with advertisers, DSPs and tech partners.