Magnite Should Pursue a Broader Strategy Around Performance TV
Last week I wrote approvingly of Magnite’s acquisition of Streamr. I stand by that argument: performance TV is the most important thesis in adtech, and this deal aligns with it. But Magnite could go much bigger in how it frames and pursues the opportunity.
Consider the first two paragraphs of the acquisition press release, including a quote from CEO Michael Barrett:
“Magnite will offer streamr.ai’s technology to its ecosystem partners working with SMBs, including agencies, retail media networks, publishers operating buyer marketplaces, and DSPs.”
“By offering these tools to our ecosystem partners with SMB clients, we aim to unlock a significant revenue opportunity for our CTV publishers,” said Magnite CEO Michael Barrett.
Language like “offering these tools to our ecosystem partners” makes the acquisition sound like precisely that: an additional tool for Magnite’s customers, one more capability among others.
That’s smart go-to-market logic (I understand why Magnite is not selling directly to SMBs), but it undersells the bigger opportunity. If done right, this isn’t an incremental SSP enhancement. It’s a moonshot.
Magnite’s Strategic Crossroads
Magnite is the largest pure-play SSP, with a $3.4B market cap. PubMatic, once half its size, is now worth just $372M. If you’re an advertiser, the story Magnite is telling as the “largest sell-side advertising company” is clear: work with the biggest and best.
But Magnite isn’t going to leap from $3B to $30B by staying the course. The Trade Desk is worth $22B. AppLovin is pushing $200B. How does Magnite catch up? What is the $100B Magnite — Magnite as the AppLovin of the open internet — vision?
For years, conventional wisdom held that the buy side was the better place to be. Closer to budgets, more strategic leverage. SSPs, especially those that don’t own inventory, have often been seen as interchangeable middlemen.
Add to that:
The open internet is under pressure from AI, search, and social.
Agency holdcos are shrinking.
Brand spend is moving elsewhere.
The biggest ad platforms (Google, Meta, Amazon, AppLovin) serve performance advertisers — a totally different market, requiring different tech.
So here’s the bear case against Magnite:
It is already the biggest SSP, with unclear upside.
SSPs lack differentiation. Magnite doesn’t have the O&O of, say, Comcast’s FreeWheel.
AI threatens open web revenue.
Holdcos are declining, and the advertising market’s real growth lies in SMBs and performance advertisers, which isn’t Magnite’s core market.
The Streamr acquisition could be a powerful answer to that critique — if it’s part of a bigger plan.
Magnite Should Go All-In on Performance TV
If Streamr is just a tool for partners, the upside is limited. But if it’s the first step in building a performance-driven, SMB-friendly, inventory-rich platform, then it could be part of a sweeping strategy that transforms the company — and turns Magnite into the champion of the open internet.
Magnite (or a competitor) could build the AppLovin of the open internet by combining:
Ease of use for SMBs and performance marketers (Streamr)
Performance measurement and optimization for CTV
Unique inventory, via direct publisher deals or startups generating incremental inventory
Creative effectiveness, through formats that preserve viewer experience and drive results
This is the direction that can move Magnite from “largest independent SSP” to something much bigger — the no. 1 advertising platform outside the walled gardens.
A $100B vision is only plausible if Magnite can serve performance and SMB advertisers and offer creative and inventory no one else can.
That is, as far as I can tell, the path. But it will take a bolder vision — and likely a few more acquisitions — for Magnite to pull it off.
