Insertion and replacement are two methods for including mid-roll ads in your live-stream audio. This article will explain the difference as well as offer advice on which might suit your circumstances best. 


Insertion

Insertion involves smoothly adding new ad content directly into your livestream at planned mid-roll points and picking up where the stream left off after the break has elapsed. This ensures seamless integration every time without abrupt interruptions, like during song breaks or transitions in talk shows.



Advantages:

  • Allows for more flexible ad timing and integration, as ads can be placed at optimal points within the content.
  • Ad breaks can be of any length while still ensuring a good listener experience (useful if the amount of available creatives is low).

Challenges:

  • It can push listeners out of sync with live output quite noticeably.
  • If you also have ads baked into your stream from direct sales, insertion can mean long ad breaks which may frustrate listeners.


Replacement

Replacement involves briefly substituting part of your live content with programmatic ad content.



Advantages:

  • Provides the opportunity to use existing ad content without pushing listeners too far out of sync with the live stream.
  • Gives an opportunity for you to replace local "baked-in" ads on your stream with programmatic ads, so listeners from any location get relevant ad content.


Challenges:

  • If breaks cannot be filled, there is a likelihood that insertion behaviour will be used instead, or the break will be skipped entirely (read more in our Configuration Considerations Guide).
  • Setup can take longer as the timings of both the ad start trigger and the ad stop trigger in relation to live output need to be considered.


Which one should I choose?

The decision depends on your station's output and monetisation strategy. Insertion offers precise ad integration and seamless listener experience but time shifting is not always appropriate. Replacement is somewhat more complex to implement but can ensure synchronicity with the live stream if deployed correctly. Consider your technical capabilities and desired ad integration level when making the decision. If using metadata triggers or inaudible tones, both methods can work; insertion might provide a more simplistic solution control but replacement remains the most popular option among our customer base.