Applies to: Multicast Video. Not sure which panel you have? See Which radio or video panel do I have?

Advertisements play your advertisers' ad videos (spots) automatically within your channel's programming. You set how often or at what time they play, on which days and which videos, and the system does the rest.

When the time comes, the video that's playing is interrupted, the ad (or ads) plays, and then the channel carries on from about the same point in the interrupted video.

Before you start

1. Upload the ad videos like any other video (MP4). See Uploading videos. A practical tip: put them in their own folder, e.g. "Ads", so they're easy to find.
2. Wait until they're Ready. Only ready videos appear in the selection.
3. Don't add them to a playlist, or they'll also play as regular programming.
4. Check the Timezone in Settings. Ad times follow it.

The Advertisements page

Go to Streaming → Advertisements. Each ad schedule appears as a card with:

• the name, how many videos it has and the order (Random or Sequential);
• an on/off switch;
• when it plays (e.g. "every 30 minutes" or a time), the days and Last triggered;
• the ⋮ menu with Edit, Play now and Delete.

If you haven't created any yet, you'll see "No ad schedules yet".

New ad schedule

1. Click New Ad Schedule.
2. Name *: e.g. "Ads every 30 minutes" or "Client X - lunchtime".
3. Triggers: tick at least one method:
   • Every X minutes: enter a number and choose min or hours, e.g. every 30 minutes or every 2 hours. Minimum 1 minute.
   • Specific time of day: one time (HH:MM) at which it plays once a day, e.g. 13:00.
4. Play Order:
   • Random (default): a random video from the list is chosen each time.
   • Sequential: they play in order, and each time it continues from where it stopped the previous time. That way every advertiser gets equal airtime.
5. Ads per trigger: how many videos play back-to-back each time (minimum 1). It can't be more than the number of videos you've selected. With Random, the same video isn't repeated within one break.
6. Days: click to turn days on or off (Mon to Sun). All are on by default.
7. Active Window (optional): Start Time and End Time. No ads play outside this period. Leave it blank to run all day.
8. Ad Videos *: tick one or more videos. Videos are grouped by folder (Main folder (root) is the ones not in a folder), and you can use Search videos....
9. Click Create. You'll see "Ad schedule created".

Good to know: with Every X minutes, the first ad plays straight away (within a minute) once you create or switch on the schedule, provided the channel is playing and you're within the active window. After that it plays every X minutes. If you don't want an ad right away, create the schedule with the switch off and turn it on when you want the count to begin.

When ads play and when they don't

The system checks every minute. An ad only plays when all of the following are true:

• the schedule's switch is on;
• today is switched on under Days;
• the time is within the Active Window (if you've set one);
• the channel is running (Dashboard → Active);
• you are not live from OBS, vMix or a camera.

If a slot is "missed" because you were live or the channel was stopped, it isn't made up later. With Every X minutes, the next ad plays at the first check where all the conditions are true again.

Important points about times

• The Specific time must be inside the Active Window. If the window is 09:00-17:00 and the time is 20:00, it will never play.
• A window that crosses midnight doesn't work, e.g. 22:00-02:00. Create two schedules: one 22:00-23:59 and one 00:00-02:00, with the same videos.
• For different timetables (e.g. every 15 minutes in the afternoon and every hour in the evening), create separate schedules.

Live and restream

Ads are designed to go in between the videos of your playlist. While you're live, they don't play. While the channel is showing a restream, viewers see the restream, not the ads. So if you have restreams at set times, set the Active Window so it doesn't overlap them.

Play now

If you want to air an ad immediately, e.g. during a break in a show:

1. On the schedule's card, click ⋮ → Play now.
2. You'll see "Ad is now playing". The video that's playing is interrupted and one ad from this schedule plays (a random one or the next in order).

Play now only works when the channel is running and you're not live. It plays one video each time, regardless of Ads per trigger. For more, click it again when the first one ends.

You can also reach your ads from the Studio (link at the bottom) and the Mixer (Advertisements tab and button).

Pausing, changing and deleting

• Pause: turn off the switch on the card ("Deactivated"). The schedule stays saved. When you turn it back on ("Activated"), it starts again.
• Changes: ⋮ → Edit, change what you need (e.g. add a new client's spot) and click Save ("Ad schedule updated").
• Delete: ⋮ → Delete and confirm in the Delete Ad Schedule window. Only the schedule is deleted; the videos stay in your Videos.
• If you delete a video from the Videos page, it no longer plays as an ad either. If a schedule is left with no videos, it won't play; open Edit and select new ones.

Examples

Messages / Common problems