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SDK operation modes
The SDK can operate in one or more modes, depending on the ad response it receives from the ad
server.
Single ad
An ad that can be played at any time when the start
message is sent to the IMAAdsManager. No special initialization
is necessary to play a single ad.
Ad pod
Several ads that play back to back when the start message is sent to
the IMAAdsManager. No special initialization is necessary to
play a single ad pod.
Ad rules
A playlist of ad breaks scheduled at certain times against particular
content. The start message is ignored in ad rules mode. There can
be several ad breaks scheduled within a single playlist (e.g., pre-roll,
mid-roll, post-roll). For further implementation details, see the
Ad Rules section below.
Ad rules
IMA
tvOS SDK supports fully automated ad playlists. This feature
inserts ad breaks into the content as specified in
Google Ad Manager
when trafficking your ads. It also greatly simplifies the video player code
necessary to support ad breaks, including pre-rolls, mid-rolls, and post-rolls.
When trafficking ads in Ad Manager, it is possible to specify various ad rules
like "always play ad break at the beginning of the content" or "play a one-minute ad break
every 30 minutes of content".
When ads are requested, the ad server can return an ad playlist. The SDK
processes the playlist and automatically schedules the ad breaks that have been
specified.
When initializing the AdsManager, an IMAContentPlayhead
object is passed in via the initializeWithContentPlayhead:adsRenderingSettings:
call. If you are using an AVPlayer to display your content, you pass an
instance of IMAAVPlayerContentPlayhead to the SDK when you create your
adDisplayContainer. This object is used to track the progress of the content playback so ad
breaks are automatically inserted at the times specified in Ad Manager.
Implement currentTime to return the current time of your
video player.
Change the IMAAdsManager initialization call to
use initializeWithContentPlayhead:self.
The IMAAdsManagerDelegate
is used to pause and resume the content as ad breaks are played.
Note: When the content has finished playing or
the user has stopped playback, be sure to call contentComplete
on the IMAAdsLoader in order to signal to the SDK that the content
has finished playing. The SDK then plays the post-roll ad break, if one has been scheduled.
The ALL_ADS_COMPLETED event is raised when all ad breaks have
been played. In addition, note that content tracking begins when
IMAAdsManager's initializeWithContentPlayhead:adsRenderingSettings
method is called and you should always call initializeWithContentPlayhead:adsRenderingSettings
before playing content.
[null,null,["Last updated 2025-08-28 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eThe tvOS SDK utilizes a WebView for ad requests, parsing responses, tracking, and rendering the ad UI.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eIt supports various ad formats including single ads, ad pods, and ad rules (playlists of ad breaks).\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eAd rules, managed through Google Ad Manager, allow for automated ad insertion at designated times within the content.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe SDK uses \u003ccode\u003eIMAContentPlayhead\u003c/code\u003e, which integrates with AVPlayer or a custom implementation, to synchronize ad breaks with content playback.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eUpon content completion, calling \u003ccode\u003econtentComplete\u003c/code\u003e on \u003ccode\u003eIMAAdsLoader\u003c/code\u003e triggers any scheduled post-roll ads and signals the completion of all ads.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["# Automate ad playlists\n\n| **Note:** The tvOS SDK uses a WebView to load a JavaScript back end. This WebView is used to make ad requests, parse responses, ping tracking URLs, and render the ad UI.\n\nSDK operation modes\n-------------------\n\nThe SDK can operate in one or more modes, depending on the ad response it receives from the ad\nserver.\n\nSingle ad\n: An ad that can be played at any time when the `start`\n message is sent to the `IMAAdsManager`. No special initialization\n is necessary to play a single ad.\n:\n\nAd pod\n: Several ads that play back to back when the `start` message is sent to\n the `IMAAdsManager`. No special initialization is necessary to\n play a single ad pod.\n\nAd rules\n: A playlist of ad breaks scheduled at certain times against particular\n content. The `start` message is ignored in ad rules mode. There can\n be several ad breaks scheduled within a single playlist (e.g., pre-roll,\n mid-roll, post-roll). For further implementation details, see the\n [Ad Rules](#ad-rules) section below.\n\nAd rules\n--------\n\nIMA\ntvOS SDK supports fully automated ad playlists. This feature\ninserts ad breaks into the content as specified in\n[Google Ad Manager](//admanager.google.com/)\nwhen trafficking your ads. It also greatly simplifies the video player code\nnecessary to support ad breaks, including pre-rolls, mid-rolls, and post-rolls.\n\n- When trafficking ads in Ad Manager, it is possible to specify various ad rules like \"always play ad break at the beginning of the content\" or \"play a one-minute ad break every 30 minutes of content\".\n- When ads are requested, the ad server can return an ad playlist. The SDK processes the playlist and automatically schedules the ad breaks that have been specified.\n- When initializing the `AdsManager`, an `IMAContentPlayhead` object is passed in via the `initializeWithContentPlayhead:adsRenderingSettings:` call. If you are using an AVPlayer to display your content, you pass an instance of `IMAAVPlayerContentPlayhead` to the SDK when you create your `adDisplayContainer`. This object is used to track the progress of the content playback so ad breaks are automatically inserted at the times specified in Ad Manager. \n\n **With AVPlayer:** \n\n ```objective-c\n IMAContentPlayhead *contentPlayhead =\n [[IMAAVPlayerContentPlayhead alloc] initWithAVPlayer:self.contentAVPlayer];\n IMAAdsRequest *request = [[IMAAdsRequest alloc] initWithAdTagUrl:adTagUrl\n adDisplayContainer:adDisplayContainer\n contentPlayhead:contentPlayhead\n userContext:nil];\n ```\n\n **Without AVPlayer:**\n 1. Implement the `IMAContentPlayhead` interface.\n 2. Implement `currentTime` to return the current time of your video player.\n 3. Change the `IMAAdsManager` initialization call to use `initializeWithContentPlayhead:self`.\n- The [IMAAdsManagerDelegate](/interactive-media-ads/docs/sdks/tvos/client-side/reference/Protocols/IMAAdsManagerDelegate) is used to pause and resume the content as ad breaks are played.\n\n**Note:** When the content has finished playing or\nthe user has stopped playback, be sure to call `contentComplete`\non the `IMAAdsLoader` in order to signal to the SDK that the content\nhas finished playing. The SDK then plays the post-roll ad break, if one has been scheduled.\nThe `ALL_ADS_COMPLETED` event is raised when all ad breaks have\nbeen played. In addition, note that content tracking begins when\n`IMAAdsManager`'s `initializeWithContentPlayhead:adsRenderingSettings`\nmethod is called and you should always call `initializeWithContentPlayhead:adsRenderingSettings`\nbefore playing content."]]