Link to The Trade Desk Home Page

Our platform

Deliver CTV pause ads seamlessly

An illustration of the Kokai Programmatic Table, with a graphic of a play and pause button highlighted in the center.

Share:

What it is

CTV pause ads enable advertisers to engage viewers at natural breaks in the viewing experience. When a user pauses video content, a display ad appears on-screen, thus creating a high-attention, user-initiated, and distraction-free moment without interrupting playback.

Historically, activating pause ads has required direct integrations and custom workflows across publishers. With this update, buyers can now programmatically access and manage pause ad inventory within The Trade Desk using the same tools they rely on across other channels. 

What’s new

You can now activate and manage CTV pause ads directly within Kokai, which allows you to test and scale the format for existing campaigns.

The update makes it simple to: 

  • Activate through deal-based access with programmatic control: Pause ads are transacted via PMP or PG deals, with activation, pacing, and management handled in-platform.

  • Manage creatives and approvals in-platform: Upload pause ad creatives and monitor approval status across participating publishers and SSP partners, all without leaving the platform.

  • Apply audience and performance decisioning: Use the same audience targeting, optimization, and measurement tools to inform delivery across pause ads and broader CTV campaigns.

  • Leverage a high-attention, user-initiated moment: Reach viewers when they pause content to create an opportunity for your brand’s messaging.

  • Operate with standardized signals: Pause ads are built with IAB’s CTV standards in mind, supporting consistent measurement, brand safety, and reporting across publishers.

  • Full-screen impact: Deliver messaging in a large, high-visibility format designed for strong visual storytelling.

How to activate pause ads

CTV pause ads are currently available in open beta with further enhancements to come. 

Activate pause ads within your CTV campaigns using standard campaign setup workflows in Kokai and toggle on “Pause Ads” within the Creative Library. Availability may vary by partner and region as the beta expands. 

This information is provided solely for background and is not a representation or guarantee of any future performance.