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What is a Postroll?

A postroll is an advertisement or other inserted segment presented after the primary video finishes. Its placement avoids interrupting the main program but depends on viewers remaining through the end.

How Postrolls work

A postroll is scheduled against the end boundary of a primary media item, either as a separate client-requested asset or as media appended by a server-side assembly process. The player or manifest logic must preserve the transition after the content timeline has completed and report the ad or message independently. It occupies the monetization or promotion stage of playback, where its noninterruptive placement trades reach for a cleaner main-program experience.

Key facts

  1. Client-side insertion can be triggered by the primary media’s ended state, but player teardown, navigation, or a “next item” action may occur first and suppress the request.
  2. Server-side insertion can append postroll media to one continuous stream, yet analytics still need a distinct boundary so content completion is not mistaken for ad completion.
  3. A postroll impression is exposed to end-of-content abandonment by design. Testing should include autoplay restrictions and playlist advancement, not only successful standalone playback.

When Postrolls matter

Choose a postroll for closing promotions when preserving uninterrupted playback is more important than maximum exposure. Completion drop-off can sharply reduce impressions, and autoplay restrictions may block a separate segment.

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