No ads are playing on my channel
Find out why your tag returns an empty answer, checking the most likely causes first, using pages you can open yourself.
When LtvAdx has nothing to show for a request, it answers with an empty VAST and your player plays no ad. The empty answer doesn't say why, so this page goes through the causes in the order they are most likely, with what you will see at each step. Stop at the first step that explains it.
1. See what your tag returns
Open VAST Tag Generator, choose the channel, and select Test VAST in browser.
- You see XML that contains an
<Ad>: the channel serves. Your player isn't showing it. Check the player's own log and the VAST error codes, then see Get your VAST tag. - You see only
<VAST version="4.2"/>: no ad was chosen. Go on to step 2. - The channel isn't in the menu: it isn't approved yet. Go to step 2.
Note the X-Request-Id header of the empty answer. Support can use it.
2. Is the channel approved?
Open Channels & Apps. The Status must read APPROVED.
- PENDING: LtvAdx hasn't decided. Nothing serves until it does.
- REJECTED or REQUIRES RESUBMISSION: fix and resubmit. See Channel review.
- APPROVED, but the tag still returns nothing for every request: the channel ID in your tag may be wrong, so copy it again from the generator. If it is right, LtvAdx may have suspended the channel or your account, which the Status column doesn't show. Contact support.
If at least 50 requests in a day went to a channel that isn't live or isn't approved, and they are 20% or more of your requests, you also get an Integration problem alert saying so.
3. Is your player calling the tag at all?
Open Fill Rate Analytics and look at Total Ad Requests for the last few days.
- 0 or a dash: nothing is reaching LtvAdx. Check the tag address, the network path from the device, and that the player asks at break time.
- Requests but 0 Filled: your player is calling and no campaign matches. Go on. The page's *Top No-Fill Reason* names the rule that stopped the closest campaign most often, such as *Bids below your floor* or *Not targeted by any campaign*. Use it to pick where to look below.
4. Prove the channel with a direct campaign
A campaign you sell yourself doesn't depend on any advertiser. If it plays, your channel and tag are fine and the issue is marketplace matching.
- Open Direct Campaigns and select New Campaign.
- Use a Link (MP4 or VAST tag) to a short public MP4, tick your channel and the same break type your tag uses, and make the dates include today (UTC). Leave platforms and countries empty.
- Select Create Campaign, then Activate.
- Test the tag again.
If this fills, go to step 5. If it doesn't, check what the campaign can't match: the tag's breakType, a tag duration shorter than the video, a goal already met, or an ahead-of-curve pacing hour. Then see the amber line on the campaign's card. See Run direct campaigns. Pause the test campaign when you finish.
5. Why marketplace campaigns don't match
For each active campaign, LtvAdx applies its rules in a fixed order and drops the campaign at the first one it fails. If every campaign is dropped, you get an empty answer. The rules that depend on your channel, tag or settings are below, in the order they run. You can't see advertisers' campaigns, so work through what you can change.
| Rule | What it checks | Where you fix it |
|---|---|---|
| Network demand | Whether the channel may take LtvAdx demand. In report-only mode this passes for every channel. | Authorized Sellers |
| Your block list | Whether you blocked the advertiser's domain or category. | Brand Safety |
| Break type | The campaign targets the breakType your tag sends. | Tag |
| Ad length | Your tag's duration is at least as long as the ad. A short or fixed value skips longer ads. | Tag |
| Platform | A campaign that targets platforms needs your platform to match. | Tag, channel platforms |
| Country | A campaign that targets countries needs the viewer's country to be known. A server-side fetch or an address that can't be placed is skipped. | Call the tag from the device |
| Content model, category, rating | A campaign that targets these skips a channel that has none set. | Add a channel |
| Household or audience targeting | Needs a household ID, consent, and for retargeting, your permission. | Tag householdId, Inventory |
| Ad format | A bumper break needs Bumper Ads (≤6s). Interactive and shoppable campaigns need their boxes ticked. | Channel settings |
| Price | The campaign's price must reach your Floor CPM ($). | Channel settings |
| Budget and wallet | The campaign has budget left and the advertiser can pay. | Not yours |
Two situations pass most of these and still fill nothing:
- Privacy. A children's channel, a do-not-track or COPPA signal, or a viewer in the EU, UK or Switzerland with no valid consent string is served contextually. Campaigns that need a household can't match.
- No campaign targets you. If there is no live marketplace campaign for your platform, break type and country, nothing in your settings changes that. Contact support with the
X-Request-Id.
SSAI
If you use SSAI and the session itself fails, the error message names the cause, such as an unapproved channel, SSAI not switched on, or a host not on your list. If sessions open but breaks play no ads, use the Breaks list in the test player on SSAI Setup. A break shown as empty had no campaign to fill it. Only ready, uploaded creatives are stitched, so a campaign that runs only a VAST tag link will not fill an SSAI break.