One thing I’ve learned in this industry: when someone is really trying to convince you something is “dead,” it usually isn’t.

If SSPs were truly obsolete, the market would’ve moved on quietly. No fanfare. No essays. No podcasts. Just … gone.

Instead, here we are, spending a lot of time explaining why SSPs supposedly don’t matter anymore. Which, to me, sounds a bit like protesting too much.

SSPs Were Never the Enemy

The narrative that “all SSPs are the same” is not just lazy — it’s dangerous. It ignores the nuance that defines this industry, and nuance is where the truth lives.

Yes, it’s easier to paint with one brush: SSPs undifferentiated, tech interchangeable, pipes that don’t matter. But ask the buyers who got burned by bad actors, or the publishers whose businesses were gutted by not being paid on time or at all, and you’ll hear a different story. The quality of your partners matters.

For years, some DSPs told publishers their small ops and engineering teams weren’t worth the time. That a user was a user, and any impression was as good as the next. But that ignored a core truth: context matters, content matters, and publisher businesses matter. SSPs stepped in precisely because publishers needed advocates.

When publishers were lean, we were their sales teams. When platforms made it nearly impossible to compete, we helped keep the open internet alive. When transparency became the industry’s rallying cry, we were already there. That’s the job.

Today, the best SSPs are still doing that work — but with sharper focus: making ad tech more straightforward, improving targeting, simplifying insights, delivering more transparency, more control, and building the bridge between the buy side and sell side. That’s not the mission of an enemy. That’s the work of an ally.

Content Is Still King

Data and AI are dazzling, but nuance reminds us of the obvious: without content, nothing else matters.

At OpenX, we’ve never believed all content is equal. We’re massive — ranked among the top three to five global suppliers— but not so big that we support everything indiscriminately. Quality environments matter, and so does using data to reach the right audiences. That’s why in 2018, we built the industry’s first supply-side data and identity graph. Today, more than 60% of our deals aren’t app or site lists — they’re powered by data.

That balance is the nuance: content and context remain foundational, but data enhances their value. SSPs aren’t just keeping the lights on for publishers — they’re building smarter markets where quality content and responsible data intersect. By working directly with buyers, we provide the control and choice they need, along with meaningful insights and simplicity, to drive stronger performance on the buy side.

Transparent by Design

Bid duplication is a nuanced topic. There’s good duplication — when multiple bid requests genuinely create more opportunity, like one carrying granular signals at a higher price point and another using obfuscated signals at a lower one. Done right, that helps buyers and sellers alike.

But there’s also bad duplication — the kind most often at play in the market. It’s really just gamification: flooding auctions with redundant requests that add no new value. It muddies the waters, inflates metrics, and creates noise. And noise is the enemy of transparency.

This is why all SSPs are not the same. At OpenX, we’ve openly rejected nefarious bid duplication because it undermines trust and fair competition. But we won’t sugarcoat it: when competitors’ win rates are much higher due to bid duplication and gamification, we feel the pressure too. We’ve had to consider it — not because it aligns with our principles, but because ignoring it entirely risks putting us at a competitive disadvantage.

Here’s the difference: we’ve been transparent with DSPs and publishers alike about that tension. We make clear that while it’s not our desired practice, we’re weighing it in the open rather than hiding it in the dark. Transparency means having hard conversations about where the industry is headed.

Let’s be honest: this isn’t just an SSP problem. DSPs created the conditions for bad duplication in the first place, and now some of their ‘solutions’ amount to telling advertisers what to do — instead of giving them the insights they need to make the best choices. A healthier ecosystem comes from stronger partner evaluation and better technology, while honoring advertiser choice.

Programmatic Overhaul

That’s exactly what quality SSPs are doing. Evolving, not disappearing.

But let’s be clear: programmatic itself needs an overhaul. Today, running media is too hard — too complex, too opaque — and that burden falls on buyers as much as publishers. Agencies and brands shouldn’t have to fight through fragmentation and black boxes just to reach the right audiences efficiently.

And let’s drop the pretense: programmatic isn’t just the “open internet” anymore. It’s CTV, audio, gaming, and a dozen other channels that don’t fit neatly into that outdated box. Yet we still cling to old language and siloed processes like it’s 2012. For buyers, simplifying how buying, measurement, and reporting work across formats isn’t optional anymore — it’s mission-critical.

Because without sustainable economics, there’s no quality journalism, television, gaming, or entertainment to advertise against. Content only exists if it can be funded, and buyers lose when that ecosystem erodes.

This is where the next chapter of SSPs comes in. With new tools, like supply-side targeting and data-driven curation, we can simplify ad tech, strip out waste, deliver more transparency, and give buyers the control and insights they need to maximize performance — while ensuring publishers stay viable.

Here’s the truth: if you ever feel like you’re being led down the wrong path in this industry, you probably are. Control is the key to success — for buyers, for publishers, for data providers. Our job is to build systems that put that control back where it belongs.

As long as that remains our north star — delivering effectiveness, performance, and transparency in service of great content — SSPs will continue to matter. Because the internet and media don’t work without nuance, and they certainly don’t work without the content buyers depend on to reach consumers. So the next time you hear someone insist SSPs are “done,” maybe just smile and remember: nothing in this industry is that simple. Things don’t die just because someone says so. They adapt. They grow. And if you hear claims to the contrary, ask who’s only now recognizing that as AI automates more of the mechanics, the true technical value rests in proximity to the content.