Programmatic Direct Is Having a Renaissance — And It's Because Open Auction Trust Has Collapsed

Marketecture founder Ari Paparo makes the case that years of MFA proliferation, made-for-arbitrage supply chains, and opaque auction dynamics have driven sophisticated buyers back toward programmatic direct and curated marketplace deals. The piece draws on buy-side interviews and spend-shift data to show that preferred deals and PMPs are capturing a growing share of programmatic budgets. Paparo argues this is a structural, not cyclical, shift in how premium inventory is transacted.

Last updated Apr 22, 2026 by the ATDb Editorial Team