[Microgrant] In-stream ads with Ad blocker detection on Livepeer player

Application by : eneche0343

Project Description

Building an ad-free streaming platform poses challenges for creators who must rely on alternatives like subscriptions, impacting content quality. Viewers, accustomed to ad-supported accessibility, may find the shift less affordable. We aim to address this by enhancing the Livepeer player with in-stream ads while checking for ad blockers.

Link to public GitHub repo (if applicable)

https://github.com/livepeer-ssai

Link to demo website (if applicable)

https://www.loom.com/share/003c95df4af641399cf7c9ddb22f6b63?sid=707a434c-7a1d-410c-bbe7-b4762c9eb2dc

How is Livepeer used for this project?

The extended player will overlay ads on videos(VOD or livestream) been watched using the Livepeer player. The player will be enhanced with tracking metrics for events such as impressions,clicks etc,While detecting Ad blocker on devices. The player is configurable to serve ads from any ad network ,client side.

How will you improve your project with this grant? What steps will you take to meet this objective?

A small grant will help my team start the journey of bringing ads to Livepeer(Client side and server side). We believe with this grant (seeding), we can bootstrap the first iteration of ads serving from catalyst .With the hope of getting a retroactive funding with SSAI on catalyst, My team vision of a ad network solely dedicated to Livepeer will be feasible.

Was this project started at a hackathon or another web3 event? Which one?

No

Please describe (in words) your team's relevant experience, and why you think you are the right team to build this project. You can cite your team's prior experience in similar domains, doing similar dev work, individual team members' backgrounds, etc.

I am a software and blockchain engineer with over 5 years of working experience , with keen interest in dapps development, cloud and media tech stack.

I have been in the past, a multi prize winner in different hackathon hosted by the Encode community including the Next video build hackathon 2022/2023.

I also made a lot of open source contributions, most recently to the Azuro network( Blockchain powered betting engine) in the last Encode X Gnosis hackathon.

I and my team have spent the past months researching ad serving on different platforms like Google and Amazon. From this research we had worked on some samples that are now available on how github repository.

My team members(6) are well proficient in their stacks and have been involved in several enterprise level projects in the past and are very keen in using their experience to make innovative improvement on the Livepeer network.

What is the project’s expected deliverable at the conclusion of the grant time period?

At the end of the grant time period, the features of the updated player will include client side ad serving in overlay, metric /event tracker and ad blocker detection.

What is the one thing (the core mechanic) you want someone to do when using your deliverable?

The core mechanic is for developers to be able to build on Livepeer and configure the player to work with ads tags from any ad service like Google,Amazon and other third parties. While viewers are able to watch and click on ads.

How will this deliverable benefit the Livepeer ecosystem?

Livepeer excels in transcoding but lacks effective content monetization, unlike ad-supported Web2 platforms. In-stream ads can position Livepeer as a leading competitor, addressing the crucial feature of ads for a mature video platform. This integration boosts earnings, fostering a shared revenue model with creators, establishing Livepeer as a comprehensive solution for video platforms

How did you learn about the Livepeer Grants Program?

Discord community

Start by reviewing the public repository at https://github.com/livepeer-ssai and the linked demo to understand the current player. Done means delivering configurable client-side overlay ads, impression and click tracking, and ad-blocker detection for VOD or livestream playback, but the issue names no files or tests.