US programmatic CPMs drop 32.5% in January but grow 23.6% year-over-year

The US programmatic promoting market revealed its February 2026 efficiency knowledge, masking January 2026 outcomes, and the numbers inform a well-known seasonal story with an more and more unfamiliar twist. CPMs fell sharply from December’s holiday-inflated highs, but the market concurrently posted its strongest year-over-year good points in latest reminiscence – a break up image that reveals one thing extra structural than cyclical at work.

In response to the DataBeat Programmatic Trends Report revealed on February 26, 2026, general CPMs fell 32.5% month-over-month in January, with show CPMs contracting 36.6% and video CPMs dropping 27.4%. Towards those self same months within the prior yr, nonetheless, the market seems totally completely different. Show CPMs climbed 21.4% year-over-year, video CPMs surged 33.9%, and the blended general CPM was up 23.6% in comparison with January 2025.

The report attracts on anonymized knowledge from {industry} companions throughout the DataBeat community, monitoring greater than $55 million in month-to-month income, 35 billion month-to-month impressions, and alerts from over 200 tracked bidders. These numbers give the dataset a breadth that makes the tendencies significant slightly than anecdotal.

The seasonal reset in context

Publish-holiday CPM pullbacks are a defining function of January programmatic markets. Retail and model advertisers sometimes cut back budgets considerably after fourth-quarter peaks, and January 2026 was no exception. The Commerce Desk, ranked third amongst high AdX bidders, posted a 28% month-over-month CPM decline. Google Adverts, nonetheless the highest purchaser on AdX, fell 43%. DV360 dropped 36%. In response to the DataBeat report, “Google Adverts remained the highest purchaser this month, however CPMs fell sharply by 43% MoM, with DV360 additionally down 36%, reflecting weaker general demand.”

Amongst main advertisers on AdX, Greatest Purchase recorded a 52% month-over-month CPM decline, and AT&T fell 57% – each figures the report attributes to lowered model spending after the vacation season. Marriott Worldwide, the highest-CPM advertiser on the record at $8.91, nonetheless posted a 22% month-to-month drop. The outlier was Comcast, the one top-ten advertiser to register progress: CPMs up 14% month-over-month at $2.37, a notable divergence from the in any other case uniform downward path.

TemuDSP posted the steepest decline of any tracked bidder: 75% month-over-month, with a CPM of $6.87. Media.web fell 60%. These are vital contractions, although the context issues – each platforms entered January from positions of elevated holiday-period exercise.

System-level breakdown

The device-level knowledge provides granularity to the headline figures. Cellular CPMs averaged $1.02 in January, down 33.3% month-over-month however up 12.1% year-over-year. Desktop got here in at $1.09, falling 32.3% from December and rising 25.3% yearly. Pill CPMs reached $0.85, a 19.8% month-to-month decline paired with a 16.4% annual acquire.

Linked TV stands out. CTV CPMs averaged $4.82 – nicely above all different machine classes – with a relatively modest 13.6% month-to-month decline and a powerful 29.2% year-over-year enhance. Advert Trade dominated CTV share at 48% of provide, posting a $7.87 CPM regardless of a 61% month-to-month fall. Telaria held 15% share at $6.43, up 2% month-over-month. Index Trade claimed 12% share at $3.78, up 55% year-over-year.

The relative resilience of CTV pricing, even in a down month, displays the rising advertiser urge for food for premium video stock. As PPC Land has reported, programmatic CTV inventory has been expanding steadily via new codecs and biddable linear tv, and standardization efforts have been gaining momentum throughout the {industry}.

The SSP panorama in January

Amongst show SSPs, Advert Trade led with a 33% share of voice at a $1.02 CPM, down 42% month-over-month however up 4% yearly. Index Trade ranked second at 9% share, with a $1.40 CPM and 30% year-over-year progress. PubMatic held 5% share at $1.53, posting a relatively modest 15% month-to-month decline and a 26% annual enhance. TTD, at 5% share, commanded the best CPM within the show group at $2.34, with a 13% month-to-month drop however a ten.7% annual acquire.

On the video aspect, InMobi was the outlier: with a 3% share at $3.64, it posted 249% year-over-year progress – an distinctive determine that displays its comparatively low prior-year baseline slightly than an industry-wide dynamic. Amazon held 16% of video share at $3.39, down 45% month-over-month however up 52% yearly.

Within the VRTCAL, Nativo, and Media.web class, the report notes these three have been exceptions to the final year-over-year enchancment sample in show – all posted annual CPM declines.

Programmatic integration: Prebid dominates

The programmatic integration breakdown exhibits Prebid with a commanding 51% market share, trailed by Advert Trade at 26%, TAM at 15%, and EBDA at 9%. Whereas all integrations noticed month-over-month CPM declines, EBDA was the one one to publish an annual CPM decline as nicely. Prebid delivered a CPM of $1.21, down 34.2% month-to-month however up 8% year-over-year. Advert Trade integration posted $1.08 CPM with a 50% annual acquire – the strongest year-over-year progress throughout all 4 integration varieties.

Amongst Prebid high SSPs, TTD ranked second at 13% share with a $2.35 CPM and 10.8% annual enhance. Index Trade led Prebid share at 18%, posting $1.47 CPM and 25% annual progress. Dianomi was a notable outlier: up 27% month-over-month within the Prebid context, the one companion in that group to publish a optimistic month-to-month motion.

Safe alerts: a market-shaping variable

One of many extra technically substantive sections of the DataBeat report examines how safe alerts are altering programmatic public sale dynamics – and the findings carry vital implications for publishers and patrons navigating the post-cookie transition.

In response to the report, on Chrome, “CPM will increase by 27%, exhibiting that bidders are extra assured in regards to the worth of the stock and are keen to pay extra once they perceive who they’re reaching.” Fill charges in Chrome environments rose from 12.7% to 76.7% when safe alerts have been current, versus absent, for the successful bidder.

The image differs sharply in non-Chrome environments. There, “fill charges enhance from 11.28% to 65.22%” when safe alerts are delivered, however CPMs rise by only one%. The report explains this divergence: non-Chrome environments carry huge stock availability, which limits pricing stress whilst bidder participation grows. Safe alerts in these environments assist bidders assess and fill stock extra reliably, however “the data isn’t ample to assist greater CPMs within the absence of cookies.”

The sensible conclusion the report attracts is forward-looking: “As safe alerts mature and accumulate extra knowledge over time, they’re anticipated to enhance bidder confidence and spending in non-Chrome environments, creating potential for future CPM progress.”

Identification options and CPM uplift

Which id options ship essentially the most pricing premium when safe alerts attain the successful bidder? The DataBeat knowledge is unusually granular right here. In response to the report, Unified ID 2.0 confirmed the best CPM uplift at 94%, adopted by Unified ID 1.0 at 85%. LiveIntent got here in at 74%. OpenX and BidSwitch posted 43% and 42% respectively, whereas Lotame Panorama ID reached 38% and LiveRamp ATS 29%. LiveIntent for PubMatic confirmed the smallest acquire at 18%.

The report characterizes UID 2.0 and UID 1.0 as acting at this degree as a result of “these IDs are constructed on consented first-party knowledge and are straightforward for patrons to make use of, which ends up in greater bids when they’re delivered to the winner.” LiveIntent and LiveRamp ATS profit from “purchaser desire for authenticated and email-based alerts.” BidSwitch and OpenX, in contrast, present average good points as a result of their position is primarily in “passing id alerts throughout the provision path slightly than creating id themselves.”

This rating has operational significance. Publishers who’ve invested in adopting Unified ID 2.0 infrastructure can now level to a 94% CPM uplift determine as a concrete argument for that funding. The long-running discussion about UID 2.0 adoption across CTV and streaming has usually lacked this degree of auction-level empirical specificity.

As PPC Land has covered, the broader debate about id, provide path, and sign trustworthiness has been intensifying throughout the {industry}. The safe alerts knowledge from DataBeat offers that debate a firmer quantitative grounding.

The adverts.txt provide dimension

February 2026 noticed the US programmatic provide ecosystem add roughly 106,000 web adverts.txt strains, based on the MediaMint DataBeat publication revealed on February 26. The expansion was pushed by mid-traffic publishers increasing their licensed vendor relationships and elevated reseller exercise. Sharethrough, Index Trade, and PubMatic have been recognized as main that enlargement.

The good points are seen within the vendor classifications. Within the “established” tier, Yahoo gained 1,753 strains, TrustedStack added 846, Zeta gained 715, Sensible Advert Server added 706, and Blockthrough gained 653. Within the “scaling” class, ConnectAD added 6,589 strains – by far the biggest single acquire. RichAudience added 332, Primis 312, and Axonix 299. Freestar led the rising tier.

The long history of ads.txt as a provide chain transparency mechanism places these good points in perspective. Every licensed vendor line represents a writer formally acknowledging a buying and selling relationship – a mechanism that has lowered unauthorized stock because the IAB launched the usual. As PPC Land has famous in its reporting on supply path optimization automation, these licensed provide alerts more and more feed into buyer-side filtering selections.

Agentic AI and the PTSD hole

Past the efficiency knowledge, the MediaMint DataBeat publication frames February as “a pivot in direction of accountable progress,” pointing to a broader {industry} motion from AI experimentation towards operational deployment. Rajeev Butani, CEO and Chairman of MediaMint, and Nitish Mittal, Companion-Expertise at Everest Group, mentioned this shift in a MasterMinds session referenced within the publication.

In response to the publication, most AI pilots fail to succeed in manufacturing due to what the session phrases the “PTSD” hole – shorthand for Course of, Expertise, Abilities, and Information deficiencies. The session argues that transferring from experimental pilots to “ruled, scalable execution” requires embedding intelligence instantly into present workflows with “clear possession.” MediaMint’s Mia platform is described as transferring “past pilots to persona-based brokers that ship measurable outcomes with built-in accountability.”

MediaMint additionally received Bronze for Digital Enablement Supplier of the Yr on the twentieth annual Stevie Awards for Gross sales and Buyer Service, evaluated in opposition to greater than 2,100 world nominations. The corporate was additionally featured in Everest Group’s Agentic AI analysis throughout the identical interval.

This framing – agentic AI as accountable infrastructure slightly than a pilot challenge – intersects with a broader adtech dialog. Industry debates on agentic protocols have raised considerations about transparency and governance, which Butani’s PTSD framework instantly addresses by putting course of accountability on the centre of deployment standards.

Why this issues for entrepreneurs

The February 2026 DataBeat knowledge offers the clearest snapshot but of the place US programmatic efficiency sits initially of the yr. The 23.6% year-over-year general CPM progress alerts real market power beneath the seasonal noise. However the safe alerts and id resolution knowledge could be the most instantly actionable a part of the report for publishers and patrons alike.

Publishers evaluating whether or not to combine Unified ID 2.0 or prioritize safe sign supply have, for the primary time, auction-level proof exhibiting a possible 94% CPM differential. Consumers contemplating which id frameworks to activate can weigh those self same numbers. And the Chrome versus non-Chrome divergence underscores that the market isn’t uniform – browser atmosphere, provide scale, and sign depth all work together in ways in which require differentiated methods.

January is usually the softest month of the programmatic calendar. The query for the months forward is how a lot of the year-over-year momentum holds as Q2 finances cycles start and the market exams whether or not 2026’s opening trajectory may be sustained.

Timeline

• 2017 – IAB Tech Lab creates adverts.txt customary to fight unauthorized stock gross sales, establishing the muse for supply chain transparency in programmatic promoting.
• January 2024 – iHeartMedia and Magnite launch an omnichannel audio promoting market, bringing programmatic shopping for to broadcast radio and podcast property.
• Could 2024 – LG Advert Options adopts Unified ID 2.0, extending identity-based concentrating on to CTV stock at scale.
• December 5, 2025 – IAB Tech Lab releases Offers API specification 1.0 for public remark, targeting programmatic deal transparency gaps.
• December 11, 2025 – IAB Tech Lab publishes standardized CTV ad format guidelines for six related tv codecs, opening public remark.
• December 17, 2025 – The Commerce Desk eliminates roughly 39 staff throughout an all-hands assembly, marking its second workforce adjustment in 12 months.
• January 8, 2026 – Martech marketing consultant Jonathan D’Souza-Rauto reveals Google Ads as the primary programmatic buyer of X inventory, elevating model security considerations for advertisers.
• January 12, 2026 – Google proclaims programmatic entry to NBCUniversal’s Olympic Winter Games inventory through Display & Video 360.
• January 14, 2026 – IAS launches Whole Visibility, described as the industry’s first end-to-end automated supply path optimization solution.
• January 31, 2026 – Public remark interval closes for IAB Tech Lab’s Offers API specification.
• February 25, 2026 – AudienceProject and The Commerce Desk launch a twin CTV measurement partnership for viewers concentrating on throughout Europe.
• February 26, 2026 – MediaMint’s DataBeat publication publishes the US Programmatic Developments Report for February 2026 (January knowledge), reporting 32.5% month-over-month general CPM decline, 23.6% year-over-year progress, and roughly 106,000 web adverts.txt line good points.

Abstract

Who: MediaMint’s DataBeat, a programmatic market intelligence unit, revealed the February 2026 US Programmatic Developments Report. The information covers supply-side and demand-side efficiency throughout greater than 200 tracked bidders, SSPs, and advertisers together with Google Adverts, DV360, The Commerce Desk, Amazon, and main model advertisers.

What: US programmatic CPMs fell 32.5% month-over-month in January 2026, with show down 36.6% and video down 27.4%, following holiday-period peaks. Yr-over-year, general CPMs grew 23.6%, show rose 21.4%, and video climbed 33.9%. Safe sign knowledge confirmed a 27% CPM uplift on Chrome when alerts have been delivered to successful bidders, versus 1% uplift in non-Chrome environments. Unified ID 2.0 generated the best CPM enhance – 94% – amongst tracked id options. The US programmatic provide ecosystem gained roughly 106,000 web adverts.txt strains in February.

When: The report was revealed on February 26, 2026, and covers January 2026 efficiency benchmarked in opposition to December 2025 (month-over-month) and January 2025 (year-over-year).

The place: The information covers the US programmatic promoting market, analyzing efficiency throughout show and video codecs, machine classes together with cell, desktop, pill, and CTV, and programmatic integrations together with Prebid, Advert Trade, TAM, and EBDA.

Why: The report issues as a result of it offers publishers and patrons with quantified proof of how safe alerts and id options have an effect on public sale outcomes, at a time when the {industry} is actively navigating the transition away from third-party cookies. The 94% CPM differential for Unified ID 2.0 and the Chrome versus non-Chrome divergence in fill charges provide concrete knowledge factors for operational decision-making. The year-over-year progress figures additionally set up that programmatic market fundamentals stay robust regardless of seasonal pricing stress.