OpenRTB Consortium

The OpenRTB Consortium is a standards organization that develops and maintains the OpenRTB (Real-Time Bidding) protocol, which serves as the foundational technical specification for programmatic advertising transactions worldwide. The consortium brings together leading advertising technology companies, demand-side platforms (DSPs), supply-side platforms (SSPs), ad exchanges, and publishers to collaboratively evolve the protocol that enables billions of real-time ad auctions daily. By establishing common technical standards, the consortium facilitates interoperability across the digital advertising ecosystem, reducing integration complexity and enabling efficient programmatic transactions at scale. As a non-profit industry organization, the OpenRTB Consortium operates through a collaborative governance model where member companies contribute to protocol development, propose enhancements, and vote on specification updates. The consortium's work extends beyond the core RTB protocol to include related specifications such as AdCOM (Advertising Common Object Model) and OpenMedia, which standardize data structures and communication protocols across various advertising channels including display, video, native, audio, and connected TV. The organization plays a critical role in addressing emerging industry challenges such as privacy compliance, supply chain transparency, and the evolution of identity solutions in a post-cookie environment. The consortium's influence extends globally, with the OpenRTB protocol adopted by virtually all major programmatic advertising platforms and serving as the de facto standard for automated media buying and selling. Through regular specification updates, technical working groups, and industry collaboration, the OpenRTB Consortium continues to shape the future of digital advertising infrastructure, ensuring that the programmatic ecosystem can adapt to technological changes, regulatory requirements, and evolving market needs while maintaining efficiency and scale.