Ease Live adds VAST for contextual ads across live & on-demand videos
Ease Live has rolled out support for Video Ad Serving Template (VAST), enabling rights holders, broadcasters and streaming platforms to run standardised video ads as interactive on-stream overlays without extending ad breaks or interrupting content.
The update allows Ease Live customers to use VAST, the common buying, serving and reporting format across ad servers and programmatic platforms, to activate contextual video advertising during premium moments in live and on-demand programming.
By delivering ads as a synchronised overlay layer on top of the video stream, Ease Live avoids the need for player-specific formats or server-side ad stitching, significantly reducing integration complexity.
Overlays ads can be displayed as squeeze-backs, side-by-side video or other on-stream formats that keep the primary action visible. These placements can be triggered by approved metadata sources, including live sports data, scene-level cues and content keywords, enabling contextual, moment-based campaigns across web, mobile, over-the-top (OTT) and connected TV (CTV) environments such as Apple TV and Roku.
Kjetil Horneland, CEO of Ease Live, said, “Our customers want more monetisation options that feel native to the viewing experience. This update reduces friction for agencies and brands while helping publishers create incremental, contextual inventory during live action and on-demand viewing.”
With VAST support, Ease Live can now interpret standard ad responses, render video creative within overlay placements and apply standardised tracking and measurement. This allows campaigns to be planned, delivered and reported using familiar ad operations workflows and established video KPIs, while maintaining consistency across CTV, OTT, web and mobile platforms.
Ease Live says the approach enables additive monetisation without increasing ad load, allowing publishers to introduce premium units during the content itself. Contextual triggers can be tailored to client-defined inputs, while campaigns can be trafficked using standard tags from compatible ad servers.
Use cases span live sports, such as overlays triggered by goals, substitutions, time-outs or highlight moments, as well as light entertainment and reality formats, including sponsored contestant reveals, voting windows, results segments and recap beats. Cross-genre formats also include side-by-side and squeeze-back video placements, with optional interactive calls to action such as scanning, voting, learning more or shopping.
Support for standard video ad serving and tracking via VAST is available within Ease Live’s graphical overlay advertising solutions. Ease Life is also working with brands, agencies, broadcasters and ad-tech partners to advise on supported placements, trafficking workflows, measurement outputs and activation best practices for sports and entertainment content.
