Samsung Ads and Publica extend multi-year global partnership to power CTV ad serving

Samsung Ads has extended its multi-year global partnership with Publica by IAS, reinforcing their exclusive collaboration to enhance connected TV (CTV) ad experiences worldwide.

The deal, announced today (1 October) in Sydney, sees Samsung Ads continue to leverage Publica’s CTV ad server and unified auction technology to drive yield, optimise ad revenue and deliver a more seamless, TV-like viewing experience.

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Through Publica, Samsung Ads gives advertisers access to premium CTV inventory on Samsung TV Plus – the company’s free ad-supported TV (FAST) service, which streams more than 700 channels in the U.S. and 3,500 globally. Samsung TV Plus has become the largest FAST platform worldwide, reaching over 88 million monthly active users on the world’s top-selling TV brand.

“Publica’s platform has enabled Samsung Ads to grow and become the industry’s leading FAST service due to its ease of use, flexibility and enhanced functionality,” said Joe Melaragno, head of channel sales at Samsung Ads.

“We have deepened our commitment to deliver even more high-quality content for audiences, and our partnership with Publica enables Samsung to maximise inventory value while driving outcomes for advertisers," added Melaragno. 

Publica’s technology suite provides Samsung Ads with advanced ad serving and pod decisioning capabilities, allowing advertisers granular control over placement, frequency and category exclusivity. Its unified auctions, built on the OpenRTB 2.6 framework, centralise demand sources to maximise revenue while optimising ad breaks. Meanwhile, intelligent pod construction ensures smoother, linear-style ad experiences with deduplication, competitive separation and greater brand suitability.

“As a longstanding partner of Samsung Ads, we have been focused on empowering them with industry-leading technology specifically built to maximise revenue while delivering a high-quality seamless ad experience,” added Cameron Miille, CRO of Publica by IAS.

“As Samsung Ads continues to grow its audience, our solutions will continue to ensure the curation of exceptional CTV ad breaks across their inventory," added Miille. 

Samsung Ads first tapped Publica in 2020 to support its demand-agnostic CTV ad serving and to provide unbiased access to more than 50 demand platforms.

The renewed partnership with Publica underscores Samsung Ads’ focus on strengthening the backbone of its CTV operations, ensuring ads are delivered seamlessly and at scale. At the same time, the company is pushing the boundaries of what those ad experiences can look like through new interactive formats.

Later this year, Samsung will roll out 'ShoppingBreaks', a next-generation ad experience that lets viewers purchase directly from their TVs. The format integrates creator-hosted, short-form content into Samsung TV Plus ad breaks with clear calls-to-action, shortening the path to purchase.

This builds on Samsung’s growing suite of interactive ad products, including 'GameBreaks' – a portfolio of mini-games such as The Six that transform ad breaks into more engaging moments. GameBreaks has already been shown to boost brand recall by 1.5x compared to standard video ads, with Samsung set to expand the franchise with eight new games in 2025. 

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