Programmatic · also called PMP, private auction
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.
A PMP is a members-only room inside the programmatic market. Instead of offering an impression to anyone in the open auction, the publisher creates a Deal ID that only chosen buyers can use, often for premium sections, specific audiences or high-viewability placements. The buyers still bid in real time, but only among themselves and above an agreed floor.
PMPs sit between the open auction and fixed deals. A preferred deal gives one buyer first look at a fixed price, and programmatic guaranteed reserves volume at a fixed price. PMPs are usually non-guaranteed: the buyer may win or lose each impression.
Buyers like PMPs for quality and transparency: they know which publisher they are buying from and avoid much of the made-for-advertising sites and fraud risk. The catch is that deal IDs can be resold or packaged by intermediaries (for example via curation), so a "PMP" is not automatically premium. Buyers should still check sellers.json, schain and IVT rates.
Think of it like this
A PMP is like a private viewing before a public auction: only invited collectors may bid, and the reserve price is higher.
An example
A German publisher sets up a PMP for its automotive section with a €8 floor, invites five car brands' DSP seats, and clears an average €10.50 CPM.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Curation
Curation is packaging inventory from many publishers, often combined with audience data and quality filters, into ready-made deals that buyers can purchase through their DSP.