# OpenPath
> Other · the trade desk
- Profile type: Product
- Profile status: baseline
- Last updated: 2026-05-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Canonical URL: https://thestateofstreaming.com/products/openpath/
- Also known as: TTD OpenPath, The Trade Desk OpenPath
## Summary
OpenPath is The Trade Desk's direct buyer-to-publisher buying solution, launched February 2022, that lets advertisers bid on premium publisher inventory through Prebid without routing through a traditional SSP. It is the most visible expression of TTD's supply-path optimization strategy and a structural pressure point for SSPs like Magnite and PubMatic.

## Product facts

- Category: Other
- Parent company: the trade desk (https://thestateofstreaming.com/companies/the-trade-desk/)
- Launched: 2022-02-15
- Ad model: Buyer-direct supply-path optimization. The DSP appears as a bidder inside the publisher's Prebid wrapper, so bid requests flow from the publisher's ad server straight to TTD instead of being intermediated by a traditional SSP. Existing SSP relationships on the page are not displaced — OpenPath sits alongside them.
- Pricing: No public standalone pricing. Access is embedded in The Trade Desk DSP — buyers transact OpenPath inventory through the same DSP fee structure they use for any TTD-bought media. Publishers do not pay TTD to participate.


## Key facts

- The Trade Desk launched OpenPath on February 15, 2022, with launch publisher partners including Reuters, The Washington Post, Gannett (USA Today Network), Conde Nast, McClatchy, Hearst Magazines, Hearst Newspapers, Tribune Publishing, Nexstar Digital, Advance Local, MediaNews Group, and CafeMedia. — BusinessWire (The Trade Desk press release): https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220215005434/en/The-Trade-Desk-Launches-OpenPath-Providing-Advertisers-with-Direct-Access-to-Premium-Publisher-Advertising-Inventory
- OpenPath integrates with publishers via Prebid: The Trade Desk appears as a bidder inside the publisher's Prebid wrapper, allowing the publisher's ad server to send bid requests directly to TTD's DSP without routing through a traditional SSP. — AdExchanger: https://www.adexchanger.com/publishers/is-the-trade-desk-encroaching-on-ssp-turf-with-openpath/
- On The Trade Desk's Q4 2024 earnings call (February 12, 2025), CEO Jeff Green said OpenPath now lets the largest content owners 'integrate with us directly. So if they choose to do their own yield management or build it themselves, they don't need to use an SSP,' and forecast 2025 as 'the steep part of the S-curve' for OpenPath adoption. — The Motley Fool — TTD Q4 2024 earnings call transcript: https://www.fool.com/earnings/call-transcripts/2025/02/12/the-trade-desk-ttd-q4-2024-earnings-call-transcrip/
- Vizio's OpenPath integration produced a 39% revenue increase and an 8x improvement in fill rates, per commentary cited on TTD's Q4 2024 earnings call — a CTV-side proof point for the supply-path-optimization thesis. — The Motley Fool — TTD Q4 2024 earnings call transcript: https://www.fool.com/earnings/call-transcripts/2025/02/12/the-trade-desk-ttd-q4-2024-earnings-call-transcrip/
- By April 2026, roughly 4,000 publisher domains were actively selling impressions through OpenPath, with multiple publishers (including The Guardian, WeatherBug, and Hearst) reporting double-digit CPM and revenue gains over the prior six to twelve months — though some publishers continue to flag transparency and yield-control concerns. — Digiday: https://digiday.com/media/publishers-see-double-digit-growth-from-ttds-openpath-but-volatility-remains/


## Related

- the trade desk (parent-company) — https://thestateofstreaming.com/companies/the-trade-desk/
- jeff green (ceo-of-parent) — https://thestateofstreaming.com/people/jeff-green/
- programmatic guaranteed (category) — https://thestateofstreaming.com/tech/programmatic-guaranteed/
- ctv bidding (category) — https://thestateofstreaming.com/tech/ctv-bidding/
- magnite (competitor-ssp) — https://thestateofstreaming.com/companies/magnite/
- pubmatic (competitor-ssp) — https://thestateofstreaming.com/companies/pubmatic/


## External coverage

- The Trade Desk: OpenPath — official product page (https://www.thetradedesk.com/our-demand-side-platform/openpath)
- 2022-02-15 — BusinessWire: The Trade Desk Launches OpenPath, Providing Advertisers with Direct Access to Premium Publisher Advertising Inventory (https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220215005434/en/The-Trade-Desk-Launches-OpenPath-Providing-Advertisers-with-Direct-Access-to-Premium-Publisher-Advertising-Inventory)
- The Trade Desk: What is OpenPath and how can publishers benefit? (https://www.thetradedesk.com/resources/what-is-openpath)
- 2022-03-03 — AdExchanger: Is The Trade Desk Encroaching On SSP Turf With OpenPath? (https://www.adexchanger.com/publishers/is-the-trade-desk-encroaching-on-ssp-turf-with-openpath/)
- 2023-03-06 — Digiday: A year on, The Trade Desk's OpenPath is moving toward its goals, but challenges persist (https://digiday.com/media/a-year-on-the-trade-desks-open-path-is-moving-toward-its-goals-but-challenges-persist/)
- 2026-04-01 — Digiday: Publishers see double-digit growth from TTD's OpenPath, but volatility remains (https://digiday.com/media/publishers-see-double-digit-growth-from-ttds-openpath-but-volatility-remains/)
- 2025-02-12 — The Motley Fool: The Trade Desk (TTD) Q4 2024 Earnings Call Transcript (https://www.fool.com/earnings/call-transcripts/2025/02/12/the-trade-desk-ttd-q4-2024-earnings-call-transcrip/)
- AdTech Explained: The Trade Desk OpenPath and the future of SSPs (https://www.adtechexplained.com/p/the-trade-desk-open-path-explained/)

## Profile
OpenPath is the clearest product expression of The Trade Desk's view that the open programmatic supply chain has too many tollbooths. Rather than acquire an SSP, TTD built a direct path: publishers wire the DSP into their Prebid wrapper, and bid requests skip the traditional sell-side hop. The pitch to publishers is straightforward — fewer intermediaries, more transparent demand, incremental revenue without forcing them to fire their existing SSPs. The pitch to buyers is cleaner inventory and higher win rates.

The structural read matters more than any single integration. Every CTV publisher that adopts OpenPath at scale (Vizio's 39% revenue lift and 8x fill-rate improvement, cited on TTD's Q4 2024 earnings call, is the case study TTD now leads with) is one less seat for Magnite or PubMatic in the part of the supply path where margin compounds. SSPs that compete only on routing — pipes, in the AdExchanger framing — are the most exposed; SSPs that compete on yield management, identity, or unique demand have more room to coexist.

Watch for: OpenPath's penetration in CTV specifically (where TTD's Ventura push is the parallel play), publisher pushback on transparency or yield-control, and any framing in TTD earnings calls that positions OpenPath as a margin-expansion lever rather than a publisher-services lever.
## Coverage on The State of Streaming
- ['Independent' Has Stopped Meaning Anything Buyers Can Audit](https://thestateofstreaming.com/opinion/2026/04/independent-adtech-stack-walled-garden-thesis-2/) — 2026-04-27
- ['Independent' Has Stopped Meaning Anything Buyers Can Audit](https://thestateofstreaming.com/opinion/2026/04/independent-adtech-stack-walled-garden-thesis/) — 2026-04-27
- [Trade Desk Reframes Ventura as Multi-OS Ecosystem](https://thestateofstreaming.com/advertising-adtech/2026/04/trade-desk-ventura-ecosystem-pivot/) — 2026-04-25

## Tags

- ad-tech
- supply-path-optimization
- spo
- dsp
- ssp-disintermediation
- prebid
- ctv

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