Premium and direct demand refers to advertisers buying inventory directly from publishers (often at higher CPMs) and prioritizing high-quality, brand-safe placements rather than relying on indirect programmatic demand and middlemen.

With fewer third-party cookies, ad tech intermediaries and some targeting-dependent models become less effective. This shifts negotiating power toward publishers, who can offer premium direct partnerships, contextual targeting, and first-party data solutions that command more budget.

Publishers can gather more consented, authenticated user signals through subscriptions, logins, and direct relationships; implement privacy-first data collection and segmentation; and use that data to create higher-value audience packages for advertisers.

Publishers should pursue direct-sold inventory, curated premium marketplaces, sponsored content/native formats, subscription and membership revenue, and richer contextual and outcome-based offerings to diversify revenue.