MIAMI – Magnite recently unified its streaming operations under a single banner, rebranding its streaming business to operate fully as SpringServe, a major strategic shift aimed at redefining how streaming media is monetized and how supply chains are structured in a complex, evolving digital landscape.
“We folded our ad exchange, formerly known as Magnite Streaming, into our ad server and mediation platform SpringServe, and we’ve rebranded our entire streaming business under the SpringServe brand,” Sean Buckley, president of revenue at Magnite, said in this interview at the POSSIBLE conference.
At the heart of the move is a critique of legacy terms like SSP (supply-side platform), which Buckley says have become muddied in meaning.
“The term ‘SSP’ or ‘ad exchange’ has largely been hijacked in the industry,” Buckley said. “In the streaming world, media owners and buyers are looking for something different.”
SpringServe now serves dual roles: either as an ad server managing all transaction types – from traditional direct sales to programmatic – or as a mediation platform, orchestrating a publisher’s programmatic business. Buckley emphasized that SpringServe is currently the only platform offering this capability at scale for streaming media owners.
Streamlining for the buy-side and sell-side
While media owners benefit from a unified interface and platform capabilities, Buckley stressed the significance of the change for advertisers.
“Buyers are asking for more direct connections to supply – more efficient supply chains,” he said. “What we’ve done is essentially collapsed two layers into one, simplifying and streamlining the supply chain.”
The result, Buckley said, is a more direct path to nearly all ad-supported streaming in the U.S., an increasingly valuable destination for advertisers looking to cut through clutter and inefficiencies.
Innovations for a new era of TV
Beyond structural changes, Magnite is doubling down on its investment in key streaming environments—especially live content and format innovation.
“Live events are a really important part of the television business,” Buckley said. “But they need to be handled uniquely due to the high concurrency and traffic spikes.”
To tackle this, the company developed its Livestream Accelerator product, designed to make high-traffic live environments more digestible and accessible to programmatic buyers.
Meanwhile, SpringServe is also innovating the kinds of ad formats that define the streaming experience. Among these are:
- Home Screen Tiles on smart TVs, with partnerships including Vizio and LG
- Pause Ads, which appear when viewers pause a show
“We’re bringing enterprise-grade technology to these environments,” Buckley said. “They’re incredibly important real estate, and we want to help media owners maximize their opportunity.”
Looking ahead
The rebranding and realignment signal more than a name change—it’s a bet on the future of connected TV (CTV) and a message to both buyers and sellers that Magnite is positioning itself at the center of streaming’s next chapter.
“This was a big moment for the company,” Buckley concluded, “and an important message to the industry around what buyers and media owners are really looking for in the streaming space.”
Streaming, Retail Media Are Major Drivers of Ad Growth: Magnite’s Sean Buckley
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