Caught in the Crossfire: Publishers vs. AdTech on Deal Control – How to Deal With the Challenge?

Just a few months ago, at the Programmatic Summit in NYC, we witnessed a wave of new sell-side collaborations sweeping across the industry. One standout example was Permutive’s partnership with Index Exchange — but it was far from the only one.

In a race to amplify data capabilities, SSPs are teaming up with DMPs to offer advertisers sharper targeting and, ideally, better monetization for publishers. On paper, it’s a win-win. But as the initial excitement begins to fade, a more complex reality is setting in.

While curated deals promise efficiency and smarter segmentation, many publishers are now grappling with unexpected side effects — from being added to curated PMPs without consent to discovering revenue-share changes only after deals have gone live.

So the question is: are publishers once again facing the old enemy — lack of transparency and control? And more importantly, what can be done to turn this trend into a real opportunity?

Curated Deals: Who’s curating for whom?

Сurated deals are often sold as a way for publishers to unlock the full value of their first-party data. In practice, however, many find themselves opting into publisher deals they didn’t initiate — and in some cases, didn’t even know existed.

As a publisher, you’re seeing this new line item come in or getting emails like, ‘Your revenue is changing because now we’re doing this thing on your behalf. This lack of transparency isn’t just inconvenient — it’s risky. Without visibility into deals and without proper statistical reports on performance, publishers lose control of their business.

Floor prices falling through the cracks

The pricing model behind many curated deals also raises red flags. Publishers are seeing revenue, yes — but in many cases, it comes at the expense of average CPMs. Without proper floor price enforcement, curated deals risk devaluing premium inventory over time.

As one expert put it, the problem is that we all set our price floors in a system that limits the number of price floors we can set. In other words, publishers are being asked to trust a system that doesn’t give them the tools to defend their own value.

In this new landscape, transparency is power

Sell-side curation isn’t inherently bad. In fact, when done right, it can unlock real value for publishers — better audience matching, new demand streams, and monetization of high-intent segments. But when you're left out of the loop, you’re not curating anything. You're just along for the ride.

That’s why SmartyAds SSP was built with a simple promise: publishers should always be in control. Here’s how we solve the key problems publishers are facing today — and how we’re doing things differently:
Keeping publishers informed

Too many SSPs are making backroom decisions — adding publisher inventory to curated PMPs without notice or approval. Suddenly, a new deal shows up in your dashboard, your revenue share changes, and you have no idea who the buyer is or what data was used.

With SmartyAds, publishers are never added to curated deals without their clear consent, ensuring full control over participation. We prioritize giving our partners visibility into everything they’re participating in and how their inventory is being used.

Safeguarding publishers’ yield

Setting floor prices on SSPs allows inventory sellers to establish minimum acceptable CPMs for their ad impressions, ensuring they don’t undersell valuable inventory in RTB and PMP auctions. By doing so, publishers can prevent disadvantageous deals, protect premium placements from being sold for a lower price, and maintain healthy revenue margins — especially when dealing with a variety of buyers.

Floor pricing + strong publisher controls + MCM

We give you the tools to block, allow, or customize access to your inventory. That means:

• You can exclude certain advertisers from the process of media selling to ensure that you have control over the process.
• Blacklist and whitelist demand sources.
• Set up the floor prices that prevent you from selling ad spaces for lower prices than they deserve.

Additionally, today more publishers are looking for flexible tools to manage their inventory and partnerships without giving up control — and Google’s MCM (Multiple Customer Management) program fits perfectly into that picture. Through SmartyAds SSP, publishers can now connect to Google Ad Exchange via MCM, unlocking premium demand and simplifying the way inventory is managed.

Whether you're looking to streamline ad operations or just tap into new monetization streams, MCM gives you the infrastructure to do it — while keeping your control intact. MCM that gets available with our solution helps you monetize smarter, collaborate on your terms, and scale revenue with confidence.

The bottom line: curation can be powerful — if it works for you

Platforms are leading the current wave of sell-side curation. But that doesn’t mean publishers have to give up control. In fact, curated deals are at their best when publishers are the ones curating. At SmartyAds SSP, we believe that transparency, consent, and control aren't just nice-to-haves — they’re requirements that must be available for publishers.
So if you’re tired of backroom deals, CPM surprises, and losing control of your inventory, maybe it’s time for a smarter SSP. One that puts you in charge.

Get in the driver’s seat of your monetization. Register on SmartyAds SSP