Subscription streamers rediscover ads; indie agencies squeezed by DSP margins

At the NAB Show this week, analysts agreed streaming platforms cannot reach profitability without functional ad businesses, with Bank of America Securities' Jessica Reif Ehrlich calling advertising a "high-margin, incremental" revenue source and predicting more free ad-supported tiers. The same roundup flags a quieter squeeze: a 15-person New York agency clears The Trade Desk's $100,000 monthly minimum but works through reseller Mogl, which takes 12% on top of The Trade Desk's 17%, and the resulting payment gap is what produces publisher clawbacks and SSPs left holding the bag. Seen in: AdExchanger. Meta was separately fined $25bn by a New Mexico court.