Disney Real-Time Ad Exchange (DRAX)

Disney's proprietary in-house SSP and ad exchange, positioned as a premium CTV inventory monetization platform competing with third-party SSPs and walled garden ecosystems

Disney Real-Time Ad Exchange (DRAX) is Disney Advertising's in-house supply-side platform and auction engine, launched in March 2021 following its announcement at Disney's inaugural Tech Showcase on February 23, 2021. Built to give Disney full control over its premium streaming inventory monetization, DRAX hosts internal auctions that allow direct-sold and programmatic demand to compete simultaneously across all of Disney's programmatic endpoints — including Hulu, Disney+, ESPN+, and ABC — eliminating the fragmentation that previously existed across Disney's vast media portfolio. DRAX has demonstrated significant commercial impact, driving a reported 70% increase in Disney's biddable transactions and powering more than 8,000 video ad campaigns. Magnite serves as Disney's primary sell-side technology partner, aggregating demand from approximately 30 DSPs into the exchange. The platform leverages Disney's first-party audience data and identity infrastructure to enable precise, privacy-compliant targeting at scale across one of the largest premium streaming footprints in the United States. In March 2024, Disney expanded DRAX with the launch of DRAX Direct, a direct-pipe integration offering that connects Disney's inventory directly to The Trade Desk (TTD) and Google DV360, bypassing traditional intermediary layers and unifying Hulu and Disney+ inventory into a single, streamlined buying experience. This positions DRAX as a central pillar of Disney's broader strategy to compete with walled gardens by offering advertisers transparent, data-rich access to premium CTV and streaming inventory with the efficiency of programmatic automation.