Advanced TV & Digital
Pre-Roll / Mid-Roll / Post-Roll
Commercials inserted at the chronological beginning, exact middle, or very end of a piece of digital audio or video content.
What is Pre-Roll / Mid-Roll / Post-Roll?
Pre-Roll plays before the content starts, Mid-Roll is inserted during the content, and Post-Roll plays after the content ends. The three positions perform radically differently: Pre-Roll catches the highest attention but also the highest skip rate; Mid-Roll commands the highest CPMs because the listener is already engaged and committed; Post-Roll has the lowest value because many listeners drop off before the content concludes.
This position hierarchy is why podcast pricing is so position-sensitive. Mid-Roll inventory on a popular podcast might sell at €35–50 CPM, while Post-Roll on the same show struggles to clear €10 CPM. For video content, the dynamics are similar but modulated by whether the content is skippable: non-skippable pre-roll on premium CTV can rival mid-roll value because the viewer has no choice but to watch.
Why it matters
Mid-roll commands the absolute highest CPMs in podcasting because the listener is already deeply engaged and committed to the content.
Related terms
- CTV (Connected TV)— Televisions connected to the internet via internal smart capabilities or external devices (e.
- Programmatic TV / Audio— The automated, machine-to-machine buying and selling of broadcast ad inventory through complex algorithms and real-time bidding systems.
- ACR (Automatic Content Recognition)— Technology embedded within Smart TVs that visually or acoustically scans what is playing to identify the exact content or commercials.
- Addressable TV— Technology allowing advertisers to display completely different commercials to different households simultaneously while they watch the exact same linear program.