Recommended Free Tools
iTechGuides is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Learn more
In OpenRTB 2.6, a curated private-marketplace deal is represented by a standard Deal object, but that object has no core field identifying a curator or marking the deal as curated. The bid request can still disclose the deal ID, price floor, and other auction terms. Richer curator information belongs to a separate layer unless an exchange supplies it through its own extension.
What a curated PMP deal looks like in an OpenRTB request
OpenRTB 2.6 places private-marketplace information in the Pmp object. Its deals array contains Deal objects, which describe terms relevant to the auction. The standard object includes a required deal id and fields for items such as bid floor, currency, auction type, buyer-seat restrictions, advertiser-domain restrictions, and ext. It does not define a standard curator, curated, or curation field. See the OpenRTB 2.6 specification.
![Marketing Magic: How I produced 7 billion views, 50 million social media followers and $250,000,000 in yearly revenue without paid advertising! ... ... Manuel Suarez [Hardcover] Manuel Suarez](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41DEmJulOkL._SL160_.jpg)
So a buyer can receive an identifiable deal and useful transaction rules without seeing, in the core deal line, who assembled the package or what inventory, technology, or data went into it. “Plain” here means that curation provenance is not represented by a portable standard field—not that the Deal object contains no metadata.
What the fields do—and do not—tell you
- Deal ID: identifies the deal, but does not by itself explain its curation or provenance.
- Auction terms and restrictions: describe relevant transaction conditions, such as floors or eligible buyers.
ext: provides room for exchange-specific extensions. An exchange could use it to transmit curation-related information, but custom values are not a portable core field guaranteed to mean the same thing across implementations.
Why a separate Deals API matters
IAB Tech Lab’s Deals API v1.0 is a distinct specification for synchronizing deal information; it did not add a curator field to the OpenRTB 2.6 core Deal object. Its data model includes a Curation object and a curator attribute for the business that packaged inventory, technology, and/or data. It also represents seller and origin separately. The Deals API v1.0 specification describes examples where those roles belong to different businesses.
#1 Best Overall
IAB Tech Lab says Deals API v1.0 was finalized on February 6, 2026. The organization describes the API as improving visibility into curated deals and offering transparency “not currently present in the bid stream.” That is the key distinction: a deal-management record can hold richer identity and packaging information while an auction-time bid request continues to use the OpenRTB representation supported by the participating exchange. See the official Deals API page.
Having a Deals API integration therefore does not establish that every buyer will see the curator in every bid request. The cited specifications describe the data models and intended synchronization, not universal adoption or pass-through behavior across SSPs and DSPs.
Seller, curator, and origin are different roles
These labels answer different questions, and a single company need not fill all three roles:
- Seller: the business selling the deal to the buyer.
- Curator: the entity that packaged inventory, technology, and/or data.
- Origin: the system where the deal is first entered, often an SSP.
For example, a sales house could sell a deal packaged by a separate curator, with an SSP serving as the origin system. Treating the seller name or originating platform as proof of who curated the package can therefore collapse distinct roles.
What to verify when comparing implementations
Specifications define possible representations; implementation details determine what a buyer or operator can actually inspect. When evaluating an SSP, DSP, or deal workflow, ask:
- Does the system expose seller, curator, and origin as separate values?
- Is curator information available only in a deal-management API, or is it also passed in bid requests?
- Are exchange-specific
extfields documented, including their names and meaning? - Can inventory or data partners change during a deal, and how are those changes represented?
- Are deal updates synchronized automatically between SSP and DSP systems, or do teams rely on manual entry?
The first questions distinguish the roles and the management layer from the bid stream. The remaining questions help clarify operational behavior; the specifications alone do not establish how any particular implementation handles them.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why this also matters for streaming and CTV
IAB Tech Lab identifies deals as especially relevant in curation and streaming environments. Its Curated Audiences material says the specification can be used across browsers, apps, and OTT/CTV environments and integrates with OpenRTB 2.6 community extensions. That context does not mean every streaming deal is curated or that a particular CTV platform implements the Deals API. See IAB Tech Lab’s Curated Audiences page.
What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
