iWorld
Outbrain begins to rollout of new Native Header Bidding solution
Mumbai: Outbrain Inc, a leading recommendation platform for the open web has announced the global rollout for a new Native Advertising Header Bidding solution designed to help media partners boost their monetisation strategy by enabling Outbrain to serve ads on any ad placement.
Native Header Bidding allows the Outbrain advertising engine to programmatically bid into the display and video ad units to serve Outbrain Native Ads. This strategic move is designed to help Outbrain media partners maximize revenue from traditional ad units while creating more opportunities for Outbrain advertisers to show their ads and engage customers with Outbrain Native Ads.
“We are committed to innovate and help media partners in the open web fund content creation. With Native Header Bidding our goal is to help our partners maximise revenues while delivering a better advertising experience to consumers through Outbrain Native Ads,” said Outbrain chief revenue officer Eytan Galai. “Native Header Bidding unlocks new revenue potential by creating more advertising opportunities for Outbrain while increasing yield on traditional display and video ad placements.”
Outbrain enters the Header Bidding space by leveraging its deep integration with media partners which provides unique visibility into contextual performance and behavioral interest signals, enabling bidding efficiency. The result is a more personalised and relevant ad experience for the consumer and maximum performance for marketers.
“Up until now, Outbrain ads were only shown in our recommendation feed but with Native Header Bidding, we now show ads also on display and video ad placements.” said Outbrain VP of advertising Ayal Steiner. “The expected result is that users will experience more relevant ads served through native ad experiences that are much more user friendly, and Outbrain advertisers will benefit from more ad inventory which creates new opportunities to engage potential customers on the open web.”
Outbrain’s Native Header Bidding leverages open web header bidding standards with Outbrain remaining an active member and contributor to prebid.org. Outbrain now begins a global rollout of Native Header Bidding with strategic media partners.
iWorld
T20 World Cup ’26: India–England semi-final sets global streaming record of 619 million views on JioHotstar
India–England semi-final records 65.2 million peak streams
MUMBAI: The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 set a new milestone in global sports streaming, as the India–England semi-final drew record digital audiences on JioHotstar.
The match on 5 March registered 65.2 million peak concurrent viewers, the highest ever recorded for a live event on any streaming platform worldwide. The semi-final also generated 619 million views, making it the most streamed T20 international match in history.
The landmark audience numbers were driven largely by viewers in India, setting a record achieved within a single market, rather than through aggregated viewership across multiple countries.
The high-scoring encounter between India national cricket team and England cricket team produced 499 runs across both innings, fuelling widespread fan engagement across platforms.
According to the International Cricket Council, the digital record surpassed the previous global benchmark of 65 million concurrent viewers, set in November 2024 by another international streaming platform.
Across television and digital platforms combined, the semi-final reached more than 320 million viewers, while total watch time exceeded 23 billion minutes, making it the most watched T20 international match ever.
“This World Cup demonstrates the immense passion of cricket fans and the progress made in bringing the game closer to audiences worldwide,” said ICC chairman Jay Shah.
“This moment reflects the scale of cricket fandom in India and the technological capability required to serve hundreds of millions of viewers simultaneously.”
JioStar vice-chairman Uday Shankar, said the audience surge underscored the future of large-scale digital entertainment.
“One in every three Indians tuned in to watch the second semi-final. Delivering such an experience at scale requires the very best of technology,” he said.
The 619 million views during the match also eclipsed the 533 million views recorded during the final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.
With the final yet to be played, the 2026 tournament has already set multiple benchmarks in audience reach and digital engagement.
India will face the New Zealand national cricket team in the final on 8 March at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The match will be broadcast on the Star Sports Network and streamed on JioHotstar.
