Video.startdelay

Where the ad plays relative to the content, in seconds: 0 for pre-roll, a positive number for a mid-roll starting at that offset, -1 for a generic mid-roll, and -2 for a generic post-roll. Recommended.

CurrentintegerRecommendedSince 2.0

Field facts

Path: imp.video.startdelay
Object: Video
Type: integer
Requirement: Recommended
Added: OpenRTB 2.0
Values: AdCOM list Start Delay Modes
Spec section: 3.2.7

How it is used

Buyers price pre-roll, mid-roll, and post-roll differently, so this field often moves the bid. When a CTV break fires wherever the stream reaches a cue point, -1 is more accurate than a guessed offset. Since 2.6 the values come from AdCOM List: Start Delay Modes; earlier versions defined the same values in OpenRTB's own start delay table.

Allowed values

Value	Meaning
`>0`	Mid-Roll (the value is the start delay in seconds): Any positive integer: a mid-roll that starts that many seconds into the content, such as 600 for a break at ten minutes.
`0`	Pre-Roll: Pre-roll: the ad plays before the content starts.
`-1`	Generic Mid-Roll: Generic mid-roll: the ad plays during the content at an offset the seller does not state.
`-2`	Generic Post-Roll: Generic post-roll: the ad plays after the content ends.

Example

Where the field sits in a payload, with everything else left out:

{
  "id": "req-1",
  "imp": [
    {
      "video": {
        "startdelay": 0
      }
    }
  ]
}

Common mistakes

Sending -1 for a pre-roll. Pre-roll is 0; the negative values are the generic mid-roll and post-roll codes.
Sending milliseconds for a mid-roll offset, which places a 30 second offset eight hours into the content.

Version history

Added in OpenRTB 2.0, and present in the latest snapshot. The table shows how each version's spec text types the field.

Versions	Type in the spec	Required	Deprecated
2.0	integer	Recommended	No
2.1 to 2.2	integer	Recommended	No
2.3 to 2.4	integer	Recommended	No
2.5	integer	Recommended	No
2.6-202210 to 2.6-202606	integer	Recommended	No