Why Your AVOD Revenue is Stalling: 5 Ad-Ops Tweaks to Boost Smart TV ROI in 2025

You’ve launched your Smart TV app. You have a solid library of content. You’ve integrated ads. But when you look at your monthly dashboard, the numbers aren’t where they should be.

High “churn” rates, low “fill rates,” and stagnant CPMs are common growing pains for AVOD (Ad-Supported Video on Demand) platforms. In 2025, simply “having ads” isn’t a strategy—Ad-Ops optimization is.

At VidMovin, we help our clients move beyond basic ad placement. Here are five technical and strategic tweaks to turn your Smart TV app into a high-performance revenue engine.

1. Optimize Your “Ad Pod” Structure

An Ad Pod is a sequence of ads played back-to-back, similar to a traditional TV commercial break. If your pods are too long, viewers leave. If they are too short, you lose money.

• The 2025 Standard: Research shows that 90-second pods are the “sweet spot” for mid-roll breaks on Smart TVs.

• The Tweak: Rotate your highest-paying premium advertisers into the first slot of the pod. Viewers are most attentive at the start of a break, and completion rates drop significantly by the third or fourth ad.

2. Eliminate Buffering with SSAI

Nothing kills an AVOD experience faster than a spinning loading circle between the content and the commercial. This usually happens with CSAI (Client-Side Ad Insertion), where the app has to “stop” the video to ask an ad server for a file.

• The Fix: Move to Server-Side Ad Insertion (SSAI).

• How VidMovin Does It: We “stitch” the ad directly into the video stream on our servers. The TV sees one continuous stream, meaning zero buffering, zero lag, and—most importantly—ads that cannot be blocked by standard ad-blockers.

3. Manage Your “Fill Rate” Weekly

If your app requests 1,000 ads but only shows 600, you have a 60% fill rate. That means 40% of your potential revenue is vanishing into thin air.

• Common Culprits: Slow ad server response times, technical mismatches between the ad format and the TV OS, or setting your “Floor Price” too high for the current market demand.

• The Strategy: Use a Header Bidding approach. By letting multiple ad networks bid on your inventory simultaneously in real-time, you drive up the price and ensure every available slot is filled.

4. Leverage “Pause Ads” and Interactive Overlays

Standard video commercials aren’t your only inventory. In 2025, non-intrusive ad formats are seeing massive engagement.

• Pause Ads: When a viewer pauses to grab a snack, a static or lightly animated ad appears on a portion of the screen. It doesn’t interrupt the show, but it stays in front of the viewer for minutes.

• Shoppable QR Codes: Integrate a QR code overlay during product placements, allowing viewers to scan and buy directly from their phones while the TV keeps playing.

5. First-Party Data is Your Best Sales Tool

Advertisers will pay a 30-50% premium if they know exactly who they are reaching.

• The Tweak: Encourage users to create a free profile on your app. Even basic data like “Sports Fan” or “UK-based” allows you to sell targeted segments to advertisers rather than just “bulk views.”

AVOD Health Checklist

Stop Guessing, Start Growing

The difference between a “hobby” app and a “media powerhouse” is the data. VidMovin’s advanced analytics dashboard gives you a surgical view of your Ad-Ops, showing you exactly where you’re losing money and how to fix it.