What is Private Marketplace (PMP)?
A Private Marketplace, or PMP, is an invitation only programmatic auction where selected advertisers bid on a publisher's premium inventory at a negotiated floor price. It sits between fully open RTB and locked Programmatic Guaranteed deals, offering more selectivity than open auction without the rigid commitments of a direct buy.
PMPs were created so that premium publishers could keep brand safe inventory away from the open exchange while still benefitting from real time auction efficiency. Today they are a baseline part of most advertiser media plans, especially for CTV, video and high authority publisher inventory.
How it works
The publisher creates a deal ID with a floor CPM, set of advertisers and any targeting parameters such as content category, geography or device. Invited buyers add the deal ID inside their DSP and bid on impressions like a normal auction, but only against the small group of approved advertisers.
Deals can be first price or second price, fixed price or auction based, and may include preferred deals where one advertiser gets first look at impressions before the rest. Reporting matches the rest of the programmatic stack, with line items, creative pacing and frequency caps managed through the DSP.
Why it matters
PMPs let advertisers reach premium audiences with brand safe inventory at scale. Buyers get tighter quality control than the open auction, and publishers get a higher effective yield. The model is especially strong on CTV, where premium streaming inventory is rarely sold open.
For mid market advertisers, PMPs are an upgrade path from open auction. Once a campaign is running well, adding two or three high quality PMP deals usually lifts post view and post click metrics without breaking the budget. Affiliates and DTC brands use PMPs to reach audiences they can't access through retargeting or contextual alone.
Related terms: Programmatic Guaranteed (PG), Real-Time Bidding (RTB), Programmatic Direct, Biddable CTV, Demand Path Optimization (DPO).