Update on [September 8, 2021 at 11am PT]:
Starting September 30, Audience Network will only use bidding to fill ads in Android apps. Publishers will need to move all waterfall apps to bidding before this date to continue monetizing with Audience Network. Please take action before September 30.
Update on [April 1, 2021 at 8am PT]:
The timeline for publishers to migrate their current iOS apps to bidding has been extended to May 31, 2021.
Update on [March 4, 2021 at 8am PT]:
As communicated in October 2020, Audience Network will become bidding-only in 2021. Today we are sharing the timeline for Android apps. Publishers and developers need to migrate their current Android apps to bidding by September 30, 2021 to continue monetizing with Audience Network.
The timeline for publishers to migrate their current iOS apps to bidding remains March 31, 2021, as previously communicated.
For new apps onboarding to Audience Network, bidding will become the default way to monetize beginning with iOS apps on March 1, 2021 and Android apps on May 31, 2021.
Audience Network will exclusively use bidding to fill ads in iOS apps beginning Q2 2021. True to our vision of supporting the long-term health of the developer ecosystem, becoming a bidding-only demand source has been a key milestone since we began testing bidding in 2017. We’re now accelerating this milestone to help prepare publishers for upcoming iOS 14 updates.
Publishers and developers need to migrate their iOS apps to bidding by March 31, 2021 to continue monetizing with Audience Network. We recognize that publishers and developers may need time for this transition, so we want to give our community as much notice and support as possible.
Impact of iOS 14
Apple’s upcoming iOS 14 changes affect the ability of publishers and developers to collect IDFA, impacting how they will be able to monetize their apps through in-app advertising.
As past network performance becomes less relevant, waterfall management on iOS 14 will become more complex. Bidding can help publishers ensure they are getting the best price for every impression - even as networks adapt to improve performance - and will help reduce costly time spent managing waterfalls.
Upcoming versions of iOS 14 are likely to create a two-tier system for developers - higher valued impressions and averaged out, less predictable lower value impressions. Waterfall powered systems are poorly placed to maximize earnings for publishers in this environment.
Bidding helps publishers maximize monetization and efficiency
We’ve seen high adoption of and strong results from bidding. Audience Network is on track to have 50% of revenue transacted through bidding before the end of 2020, so while Apple’s changes greatly accelerate the transition timeline, our bidding focus continues a trend already benefiting a significant number of publishers.
Bidding has proven to help publishers maximize their revenue and increase operational efficiency versus waterfall. In our recent report, The New Era in Ad Monetization: How App Bidding is Transforming Businesses, we’ve seen businesses experience up to a 27% increase in average revenue per daily active user (ARPDAU). Further, publishers report reducing time spent on ad operations by up to 50% as a result of moving from waterfall to bidding.
Industry analysts also note bidding’s positive impact on publishers and the ad ecosystem. In IDC’s The Current State of Header Bidding and In-App Bidding, Karsten Weide, VP Advertising, IDC says, “Bidding helps democratize the auction process, allowing publishers to work with more marketers, in terms of both total number and variety of sources. The model also allows publishers to increase their inventory revenue yield and fill rates.”
Next steps for publishers and developers
Developers and publishers can work with our app ecosystem partners or use our in-house solution to seamlessly access Audience Network via bidding. We continue to invest in these existing and new partnerships.
Our publishers and developers should contact their Audience Network representative to transition their iOS apps to bidding, or visit our website to learn more about bidding and how to integrate via our developer documentation.
We’ll continue to support waterfall and bidding for Android apps for the time being, however we recommend migrating to bidding to take full advantage of the revenue maximization and operational efficiency. We passionately believe in-app bidding delivers a more efficient system for publishers and we expect to move all of our demand over.
Related resources
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How to optimize bidding
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Meta Audience Network empowers app developers and publishers to deliver a great user experience while growing a sustainable business. With Facebook demand from millions of diverse global advertisers, publishers can expand their app’s reach, keep users engaged, and monetize globally.