Adtech Needs Referee, Not Another Player With a Whistle: Shinka CEO Kieran Greene
The advertising technology industry has a remarkable talent for inventing new ways to collect money from people who thought they were already paying enough. Now, as artificial intelligence threatens to introduce another generation of middlemen, some publishers are starting to wonder whether they should take back control of the machinery.
Kieran Greene, founder and chief executive of independent adtech infrastructure provider Shinka, thinks that’s an excellent idea.
Speaking with Beet.TV editorial director Lisa Granatstein during Advertising Week New York, Greene explained why connected TV and digital out-of-home media owners are reconsidering their dependence on closed advertising platforms.
Referee Just Scored Touchdown; Nothing To See Here
Traditionally, ad servers have controlled much of the technology that determines which advertisements appear on publishers’ screens. Some also supply advertising demand, creating a potentially awkward arrangement in which the company running the auction has a financial interest in who wins.
Greene has a fairly straightforward objection.
“The referee can’t also be a player,” he said.
Imagine an NFL game where the referee also plays quarterback, owns a sportsbook and gets a bonus whenever his team scores. What could possibly go wrong?
Shinka’s approach separates the auction process from the ad server, giving publishers greater control over which demand partners compete for their inventory.
“We, as a infrastructure provider, are not incentivized to deliver any particular demand partner,” Greene said.
That independence, he argued, helps publishers identify which supply-side platforms and demand-side platforms generate the most revenue.
Your highest bidder might be hiding behind the curtain
There’s another problem with conventional ad auctions: Some publishers don’t necessarily invite all potential buyers to compete simultaneously.
Instead, an ad opportunity may be offered to one demand partner before another gets a chance. If the first buyer accepts, the transaction is completed, even though somebody else might have paid more.
It’s the equivalent of selling your house to the first person who shows up with a checkbook, while a billionaire waits outside with a suitcase full of cash.
A unified auction could allow more buyers to compete and potentially increase publishers’ advertising revenue.
But Greene also wants publishers to understand who’s bidding, how much they’re offering and who lost.
“I don’t think you can never have enough transparency,” he said.
Advertisers deserve similar visibility into what they’re purchasing, whether it’s a spectacular billboard in Times Square or a commercial appearing alongside a particular streaming program.
In other words, buyers should know whether they’re purchasing prime real estate or the digital equivalent of a billboard behind a dumpster.
Here comes AI; everybody check your wallets
The arrival of agentic AI, which can automate advertising negotiations and purchasing decisions, promises another transformation of programmatic advertising.
Greene said spending through these emerging systems has accelerated dramatically since the Cannes advertising festival.
But he’s concerned the industry could repeat a familiar mistake: introducing supposedly revolutionary technology that requires everybody to pay another intermediary.
“Are we running into the next year of advertising going to repeat similar mistakes?” he asked.
His concern is that agentic advertising could become another expensive layer on top of an already complicated supply chain.
“I think we need to really take this time to reconcile what’s already there from a programmatic piece and just make sure we’re not adding another ad tech tax,” Greene said.
The alternative, he argued, is open infrastructure that allows AI-powered buying and selling agents to negotiate directly while preserving transparency between advertisers and inventory owners.
That could help reduce unnecessary intermediaries and give both sides a clearer understanding of their transactions.
For publishers, the prize is greater control over revenue. For advertisers, it’s knowing what they’re buying and how much of their money actually reaches the media owner.
And for an industry that has spent years turning a relatively simple transaction into a Byzantine financial instrument, the possibility of fewer toll collectors might be the most revolutionary innovation of all.
You’re watching Beet.TV coverage of Advertising Week New York 2026. For more videos from this event, please visit this page.
The advertising technology industry has a remarkable talent for inventing new ways to collect money from people who thought they were already paying enough. Now, as artificial intelligence threatens to introduce another generation of middlemen, some publishers are starting to wonder whether they should take back control of the machinery.
Kieran Greene, founder and chief executive of independent adtech infrastructure provider Shinka, thinks that’s an excellent idea.
Speaking with Beet.TV editorial director Lisa Granatstein during Advertising Week New York, Greene explained why connected TV and digital out-of-home media owners are reconsidering their dependence on closed advertising platforms.
Referee Just Scored Touchdown; Nothing To See Here
Traditionally, ad servers have controlled much of the technology that determines which advertisements appear on publishers’ screens. Some also supply advertising demand, creating a potentially awkward arrangement in which the company running the auction has a financial interest in who wins.
Greene has a fairly straightforward objection.
“The referee can’t also be a player,” he said.
Imagine an NFL game where the referee also plays quarterback, owns a sportsbook and gets a bonus whenever his team scores. What could possibly go wrong?
Shinka’s approach separates the auction process from the ad server, giving publishers greater control over which demand partners compete for their inventory.
“We, as a infrastructure provider, are not incentivized to deliver any particular demand partner,” Greene said.
That independence, he argued, helps publishers identify which supply-side platforms and demand-side platforms generate the most revenue.
Your highest bidder might be hiding behind the curtain
There’s another problem with conventional ad auctions: Some publishers don’t necessarily invite all potential buyers to compete simultaneously.
Instead, an ad opportunity may be offered to one demand partner before another gets a chance. If the first buyer accepts, the transaction is completed, even though somebody else might have paid more.
It’s the equivalent of selling your house to the first person who shows up with a checkbook, while a billionaire waits outside with a suitcase full of cash.
A unified auction could allow more buyers to compete and potentially increase publishers’ advertising revenue.
But Greene also wants publishers to understand who’s bidding, how much they’re offering and who lost.
“I don’t think you can never have enough transparency,” he said.
Advertisers deserve similar visibility into what they’re purchasing, whether it’s a spectacular billboard in Times Square or a commercial appearing alongside a particular streaming program.
In other words, buyers should know whether they’re purchasing prime real estate or the digital equivalent of a billboard behind a dumpster.
Here comes AI; everybody check your wallets
The arrival of agentic AI, which can automate advertising negotiations and purchasing decisions, promises another transformation of programmatic advertising.
Greene said spending through these emerging systems has accelerated dramatically since the Cannes advertising festival.
But he’s concerned the industry could repeat a familiar mistake: introducing supposedly revolutionary technology that requires everybody to pay another intermediary.
“Are we running into the next year of advertising going to repeat similar mistakes?” he asked.
His concern is that agentic advertising could become another expensive layer on top of an already complicated supply chain.
“I think we need to really take this time to reconcile what’s already there from a programmatic piece and just make sure we’re not adding another ad tech tax,” Greene said.
The alternative, he argued, is open infrastructure that allows AI-powered buying and selling agents to negotiate directly while preserving transparency between advertisers and inventory owners.
That could help reduce unnecessary intermediaries and give both sides a clearer understanding of their transactions.
For publishers, the prize is greater control over revenue. For advertisers, it’s knowing what they’re buying and how much of their money actually reaches the media owner.
And for an industry that has spent years turning a relatively simple transaction into a Byzantine financial instrument, the possibility of fewer toll collectors might be the most revolutionary innovation of all.
You’re watching Beet.TV coverage of Advertising Week New York 2026. For more videos from this event, please visit this page.
