• by Sara Guaglione , February 26, 2016

American Media Inc. has selected ConvertMedia to deliver outstream video units. AMI will be the first publisher to use ConvertMedia's new outstream video “Coffee Break Unit,” which is a desktop screensaver that plays when a viewer is idle or stops browsing in an active tab.

SSP ConvertMedia will programmatically deliver outstream video to AMI’s brands MensFitness.com, MuscleAndFitness.com, NationalEnquirer.com, SoapOperaDigest.com, OKMagazine.com, RadarOnline.com and StarMagazine.com.

The Coffee Break Unit, per the company, offers “new high impact outstream video format that can be placed independent of content.”

AMI can custom select audio controls, skippability controls, quick load time and frequency caps. The Coffee Break Unit allows the publisher to select from either a playlist of screensaver-type videos or to embed their own custom content.

The content is then interspersed with mid-roll ads, which are served by ConvertMedia or the publisher directly, Yoav Naveh, CEO at ConvertMedia, told Publishers Daily in an email. He noted the use of outstream video unites allowed the company to help clients achieve revenue goals quickly.

According to ConvertMedia, their outstream video can be placed anywhere on a page, instead of being a “gatekeeper of user’s viewing content” like pre-roll. It also doesn’t rely on content or inventory. Publishers can utilize outstream to increase their available video inventory.

American Media's Chief Digital Officer Brian Kroski stated that AMI is looking for ways to “improve and enhance the digital experience for our users and partners.”

This is just the beginning of a growing trend: eMarketer projects that U.S. programmatic digital video ad spending will jump from $2.91 billion in 2015 to $5.37 billion in 2016.

ConvertMedia announced last month the addition of more than 100 premium publishers to its platform in 2015, including The Daily Beast, Scripps, Salon, Tribune Media, Thought Catalog,The Guardian and Reader's Digest.