Programmatic · also called first look, unreserved fixed rate
Preferred deal
A preferred deal gives one buyer the first chance to buy a publisher's impressions at a fixed, pre-agreed price, with no obligation to buy and no guaranteed volume.
A preferred deal is a priority pass. The publisher agrees a fixed price with one buyer and, through a Deal ID, offers that buyer matching impressions before they go to a private marketplace or the open auction. The buyer can accept each impression at the agreed price or pass; if it passes, the impression continues to other demand.
The IAB Tech Lab's deal terminology calls this an "unreserved fixed rate" deal. It sits between programmatic guaranteed (fixed price, reserved volume, buyer committed) and a PMP (auction, no fixed price).
Preferred deals suit buyers who want consistent access to a publisher's audience or context without committing budget, and publishers who want predictable prices from key clients. The fixed price is usually higher than the open auction clearing price, the premium the buyer pays for first look. Publishers must monitor pass rates: a buyer that cherry-picks only the best impressions can leave the rest less valuable.
Think of it like this
A preferred deal is like a regular customer at a fishmonger who gets first pick of the morning catch at an agreed price, but does not have to buy.
An example
A travel brand gets a preferred deal on a Spanish travel site at €7 CPM. It takes 60% of the impressions offered; the other 40% go to the site's PMP and open auction.
Related terms
Deal ID
A deal ID is a unique code in a bid request telling the buyer's DSP that the impression belongs to a specific pre-agreed deal, such as a PMP or programmatic guaranteed.
Programmatic guaranteed (PG)
Programmatic guaranteed (PG) is a deal in which a buyer commits in advance to buy a fixed volume of impressions at a fixed price from a publisher, delivered through programmatic pipes.
Private marketplace (PMP)
A private marketplace (PMP) is an invitation-only programmatic auction in which a publisher lets a selected group of buyers bid on specific inventory, usually with a floor price, via a deal ID.
Open auction
An open auction is a real-time programmatic auction in which any approved buyer connected to an exchange can bid on a publisher's impressions, without a pre-arranged deal.
Direct-sold advertising
Direct-sold advertising is ad space sold by a publisher straight to an advertiser or agency through a negotiated deal, usually with a fixed price and guaranteed volume.