NYTimes: US and Global News supply chain report

Each finding lists the exact lines involved. These are mechanical checks of public files, not fraud verdicts.

warning

DIRECT lines for seats the publisher doesn't own

4 −11 pts

DIRECT should mean the publisher controls the account. These seats are listed as intermediaries by the ad system itself, or are labeled DIRECT by many unrelated companies, so they belong to a reseller. Buyers who prefer DIRECT paths end up paying for an extra hop.

How to fixUse DIRECT only for accounts your company controls. Ask each partner whether the seat is yours; if not, change the line to RESELLER.

Evidence (4)

line 9      rubiconproject.com, 17470, DIRECT #OB
             → why=sellers.json lists the seat as INTERMEDIARY  seat_owner=Google  seat_domain=google.com
line 13     pubmatic.com, 158573, DIRECT, 5d62403b186f2ace #OB
             → why=sellers.json lists the seat as INTERMEDIARY  seat_owner=New York Times  (via EB)  seat_domain=google.com
line 20     Media.net, 8CU4XCJ1B, DIRECT #OB
             → why=sellers.json lists the seat as INTERMEDIARY  seat_owner=NY Times (via OB)  seat_domain=google.com
line 28     triplelift.com, 746-EB, DIRECT, 6c33edb13117fd86 #OB
             → why=sellers.json lists the seat as INTERMEDIARY  seat_owner=The New York Times (via EB Network)  seat_domain=google.com

info

Ad systems without a public sellers.json

The ad system doesn't publish a readable sellers.json, so nobody can verify these lines. That's the ad system's gap, not the app's, so no points are deducted.

How to fixAsk the partner to publish sellers.json; until then buyers can't verify that path.

Evidence (1)

line 24     openx.com, 539052954, DIRECT, 6a698e2ec38604c6 #OB
             → sellers_json=HTTP 403

NYTimes: US and Global News

Findings

DIRECT lines for seats the publisher doesn't own

Ad systems without a public sellers.json

Is this your app?