Ease Live has added support for VAST (Video Ad Serving Template) to its graphical overlay technology, opening up new ways for broadcasters, streamers and rights holders to sell “on-stream” video advertising without extending ad breaks or interrupting programmes.
The Norwegian company said the update enables standard ad responses and tracking to be used with overlay and squeeze-back formats that render on top of the stream, rather than relying on player-specific ad formats or server-side ad insertion. Ease Live argues this reduces integration complexity and allows publishers to build incremental inventory around premium moments in both live and on-demand video.
“Our customers want more monetisation options that feel native to the viewing experience,” said Kjetil Horneland, CEO, Ease Live. “This update reduces friction for agencies and brands while helping publishers create incremental, contextual inventory during live action and on-demand viewing.”
Ease Live said overlay ads can be triggered using approved metadata sources, ranging from live sports feeds to scene-level signals and content keywords. The company positions this approach as a route to scalable contextual advertising across web, mobile, OTT and connected TV platforms, including Apple TV and Roku.
The company outlined a range of use cases, including live sports moments such as goals, substitutions, time-outs and highlights, as well as entertainment formats including contestant reveals, voting windows, results and live polls. Ease Live also highlighted side-by-side and squeeze-back video placements during “high-attention” moments, with optional interactive calls to action such as scanning a QR code, voting, learning more or shopping.
With VAST support now available within its graphical overlay advertising solutions, Ease Live said campaigns can be trafficked using standard tags and familiar ad operations workflows, while measurement aligns with established video KPIs for delivery, tracking and reconciliation.
Ease Live said it will advise customers on supported placements, trafficking workflows, measurement outputs and activation best practices across sports and entertainment.
