Squeezeback Insertion and Monitoring
Cue and take a squeezeback during a live event, monitor it on air, and verify beacon delivery afterward.
Insert a squeezeback during a live event from the Live Events Dashboard, monitor it while it is on air, and verify beacon delivery afterward.
Your event must already have squeezebacks configured on the Ads tab. See Squeezeback Configuration.
Squeezeback insertion works during both a test and a live broadcast.
Open the Dashboard
Navigation: Live Events > select your event > Open Dashboard
The dashboard shows the Squeezeback Ads panel in the Switcher area. Each configured squeezeback appears as a row with its name, its duration or a manual label, and its type.
The Cue, Take, End Lifecycle
Insertion follows a cue-and-take model.
| Step | Action | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Cue | Select Cue on a squeezeback row | Prepares the insertion. For Ad Server squeezebacks this triggers the VAST request: the system calls your ad server, parses the response, and resolves the MP4 creative. A thumbnail appears when the creative is ready. |
| Take | Select Take, which appears after a successful cue | Begins compositing. The squeezeback enters the live stream immediately, and all viewers see the same composited output. |
| End | The duration expires, or you select Full Screen | The squeezeback ends and the stream returns to full-screen delivery. |
Cue a Squeezeback
- Locate your squeezeback in the Squeezeback Ads panel.
- Select Cue on that row.
- An uploaded creative resolves immediately.
- An Ad Server creative triggers a VAST request using the configured key-value pairs, which can take a few seconds. If the creative does not load within the timeout configured in Settings, a timeout error appears and you can cue the ad again or skip it.
- When the creative resolves, a thumbnail appears on the row and Take becomes available.
Take a Squeezeback
- Select Take.
- The squeezeback composites with the live stream immediately.
- The row is highlighted and shows the remaining duration.
- The Audience View panel updates to show what viewers are seeing.
End a Squeezeback
A timed squeezeback ends on its own when its countdown reaches zero. For a Double Box using an uploaded video, a duration shorter than the video truncates the video at that point. Otherwise the video plays to its end.
An Ad Server squeezeback runs for the duration of the creative returned in the VAST response.
A squeezeback with no duration, meaning the field was left empty or set to 0, waits for you. Select Full Screen at the top of the Squeezeback Ads panel to end it. The stream returns to full-screen delivery immediately.
Selecting Full Screen ends the squeezeback immediately. There is no confirmation prompt.
One Squeezeback at a Time
Only one squeezeback can be active at a time. To insert another, wait for the current one to end, or select Full Screen to end it early, then cue and take the next one.
Auto-Cue
When Auto-cue Ad Squeezebacks on Start is enabled in Settings, every Ad Server squeezeback begins resolving as soon as you start a test or start the event. The VAST calls happen up front, so you only need to select Take when you are ready.
Creatives resolved at start stay valid for the event, so you can take a squeezeback long after it was cued.
When the setting is disabled, the default, you cue each ad squeezeback manually.
Full Screen and Disable
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Full Screen | Ends any active squeezeback and returns to full-screen content delivery. |
| Disable | Locks the Squeezeback Ads panel so you cannot select a squeezeback by accident. This is a UI safeguard only. It does not affect a squeezeback that is currently on air. |
Monitor an Insertion
| Indicator | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Slicer Live Preview | The composited output, content plus creative, in near real time from the slicer. |
| Audience View | What your viewers are seeing, at viewer-facing latency rather than slicer latency. |
| Countdown timer | For a timed squeezeback, counts down from the configured or returned duration to zero. |
| Count-up timer | For a manual squeezeback, counts up from zero to show how long it has been on air. |
| Executed badge | A green badge with the creative thumbnail, marking a squeezeback that has already been inserted. |
Verify Beacon Delivery
After an insertion, verify that beacons fired using Ad Inspector.
Navigation: Ads > Ad Inspector > Query Results > select a job
| Field | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Channel Name | The live event name. |
| Channel GUID | The event GUID, which matches your event configuration. |
| Playback Type | Shows LIVE. |
| Ads tab | Each ad that was resolved, with its Ad ID, Creative ID, and duration. |
| Beacons tab | Every beacon fired, including impression, quartiles, and completion, with timestamps. |
| Unfulfilled Requests | 0 for a successful insertion. |
A successful ad-server squeezeback shows the ad in the Ads tab with the Creative ID and duration matching the VAST response, beacons in the Beacons tab, and a job status of COMPLETED. The beacon count depends on the number of viewer sessions.
Squeezebacks with a Workspace Creative
A squeezeback using a Workspace Creative makes no VAST request, so it does not appear in Ad Inspector. An empty Ad Inspector result for one is expected and does not mean the insertion failed.
These insertions are still tracked. Uplynk fires its own beacons for them, and they are reported through the Ads Stats API.
Updated about 3 hours ago