IMA SDKs make it easy to integrate multimedia ads into your websites and apps. IMA SDKs can request ads from any VAST-compliant ad server and manage ad playback in your apps. With IMA client-side SDKs, you maintain control of content video playback, while the SDK handles ad playback. Ads play in a separate video player positioned on top of the app's content video player.
This guide demonstrates how to integrate the IMA SDK into a simple video player app. If you would like to view or follow along with a completed sample integration, download the BasicExample from GitHub.
IMA client-side overview
Implementing IMA client-side involves four main SDK components, which are demonstrated in this guide:
-
IMAAdDisplayContainer: A container object that specifies where IMA renders ad UI elements and measures viewability, including Active View and Open Measurement . -
IMAAdsLoader: An object that requests ads and handles events from ads request responses. You should only instantiate one ads loader, which can be reused throughout the life of the application. -
IMAAdsRequest: An object that defines an ads request. Ads requests specify the URL for the VAST ad tag, as well as additional parameters, such as ad dimensions. -
IMAAdsManager: An object that contains the response to the ads request, controls ad playback, and listens for ad events fired by the SDK.
Prerequisites
Before you begin, you need the following:
- Xcode 13 or later
- CocoaPods (preferred), Swift Package Manager, or a downloaded copy of the IMA SDK for tvOS
1. Create a new Xcode project
In Xcode, create a new tvOS project using Objective-C or Swift. Use BasicExampleas the project name.
2. Add the IMA SDK to the Xcode project
Installing the SDK using CocoaPods (preferred)
CocoaPods is a dependency manager for Xcode projects and is the recommended method for installing the IMA SDK. For more information on installing or using CocoaPods, see the CocoaPods documentation . Once you have CocoaPods installed, use the following instructions to install the IMA SDK:
-
In the same directory as your BasicExample.xcodeprojfile, create a text file called Podfile, and add the following configuration:
source 'https://github.com/CocoaPods/Specs.git' platform :tvos, '14' target "BasicExample" do pod 'GoogleAds-IMA-tvOS-SDK', '~> 4.15.1' end -
From the directory that contains the Podfile, run
pod install --repo-update -
Verify that the installation was successful by opening the BasicExample.xcworkspacefile and confirming that it contains two projects: BasicExampleand Pods(the dependencies installed by CocoaPods).
Install the SDK using Swift Package Manager
The Interactive Media Ads SDK supports Swift Package Manager starting in version 4.8.2. Follow the steps below to import the Swift package.
-
In Xcode, install the IMA SDK Swift Package by navigating to File > Add Packages....
-
In the prompt that appears, search for the IMA SDK Swift Package GitHub repository:
https : //github.com/googleads/swift-package-manager-google-interactive-media-ads-tvos -
Select the version of the IMA SDK Swift Package you want to use. For new projects, we recommend using the Up to Next Major Version.
Once you're finished, Xcode resolves your package dependencies and downloads them in the background. For more details on how to add package dependencies, see Apple's article .
Manually downloading and installing the SDK
If you don't want to use CocoaPods, you can download the IMA SDK and manually add it to your project.
Show/hide instructions
- From the tvOS IMA Download page , download and extract the latest version of the tvOS IMA SDK.
- Open BasicExample.xcodeproj.
- In the left pane, click the project name.
- In the center pane, click Build Phases.
- Expand the Link Binary With Librariessection.
- At the bottom of the libraries list, click the plus icon [+].
- Click Add Other.
- In the directory where you extracted the downloaded SDK, select GoogleInteractiveMediaAds.frameworkand click Open.
- At the bottom of the libraries list, click the plus icon [+]again.
- In the Statuscolumn, verify that
GoogleInteractiveMediaAds.frameworkis set toRequired. - Include the
-ObjClinker flag in your build settings. For more information, see Apple QA1490 .
3. Create a simple video player
First, implement a basic video player. Initially, this player does not use the IMA SDK and does not yet contain any method to trigger playback.
ViewController.m
Objective-C
#import "ViewController.h" #import <AVKit/AVKit.h> NSString * const kContentURLString = @"https://storage.googleapis.com/interactive-media-ads/media/stock.mp4" ; @interface ViewController () @property ( nonatomic ) AVPlayerViewController * contentPlayerViewController ; @end @implementation ViewController - ( void ) viewDidLoad { [ super viewDidLoad ]; self . view . backgroundColor = UIColor . blackColor ; [ self setupContentPlayer ]; } - ( void ) setupContentPlayer { // Create a content video player. NSURL * contentURL = [ NSURL URLWithString : kContentURLString ]; AVPlayer * player = [ AVPlayer playerWithURL : contentURL ]; self . contentPlayerViewController = [[ AVPlayerViewController alloc ] init ]; self . contentPlayerViewController . player = player ; self . contentPlayerViewController . view . frame = self . view . bounds ; // Attach content video player to view hierarchy. [ self showContentPlayer ]; } // Add the content video player as a child view controller. - ( void ) showContentPlayer { [ self addChildViewController : self . contentPlayerViewController ]; self . contentPlayerViewController . view . frame = self . view . bounds ; [ self . view insertSubview : self . contentPlayerViewController . view atIndex : 0 ]; [ self . contentPlayerViewController didMoveToParentViewController : self ]; } // Remove and detach the content video player. - ( void ) hideContentPlayer { // The whole controller needs to be detached so that it doesn't capture events from the remote. [ self . contentPlayerViewController willMoveToParentViewController : nil ]; [ self . contentPlayerViewController . view removeFromSuperview ]; [ self . contentPlayerViewController removeFromParentViewController ]; } @end
Swift
import AVFoundation import UIKit class ViewController : UIViewController { static let ContentURLString = "https://storage.googleapis.com/interactive-media-ads/media/stock.mp4" var playerViewController : AVPlayerViewController ! override func viewDidLoad () { super . viewDidLoad () self . view . backgroundColor = UIColor . black ; setUpContentPlayer () } func setUpContentPlayer () { // Load AVPlayer with path to your content. let contentURL ! = URL ( string : ViewController . ContentURLString ) let player = AVPlayer ( url : contentURL ) playerViewController = AVPlayerViewController () playerViewController . player = player showContentPlayer () } func showContentPlayer () { self . addChild ( playerViewController ) playerViewController . view . frame = self . view . bounds self . view . insertSubview ( playerViewController . view , at : 0 ) playerViewController . didMove ( toParent : self ) } func hideContentPlayer () { // The whole controller needs to be detached so that it doesn't capture events from the remote. playerViewController . willMove ( toParent : nil ) playerViewController . view . removeFromSuperview () playerViewController . removeFromParent () } }
4. Import the IMA SDK
Next, add the IMA framework using an import statement beneath the existing imports.
ViewController.m
Objective-C
#import "ViewController.h" #import <AVKit/AVKit.h> #import <GoogleInteractiveMediaAds/GoogleInteractiveMediaAds.h> NSString * const kContentURLString = @"https://storage.googleapis.com/interactive-media-ads/media/stock.mp4" ;
Swift
import AVFoundation import GoogleInteractiveMediaAds import UIKit class ViewController : UIViewController { static let ContentURLString = "https://storage.googleapis.com/interactive-media-ads/media/stock.mp4"
5. Implement content playhead tracker and end-of-stream observer
In order to play mid-roll ads, the IMA SDK needs to track the current position
of your video content. To do this, create a class that implements IMAContentPlayhead
. If you're using an AVPlayer
, as shown in this example,
the SDK provides the IMAAVPlayerContentPlayhead
class which does this for you.
If you're not using AVPlayer
, you need to implement IMAContentPlayhead
on
a class of your own.
You also need to let the SDK know when your content is done playing so it can
display post-roll ads. This is done by calling contentComplete
on the IMAAdsLoader
, using AVPlayerItemDidPlayToEndTimeNotification
.
ViewController.m
Objective-C
... @interface ViewController () @property ( nonatomic ) IMAAVPlayerContentPlayhead * contentPlayhead ; @property ( nonatomic ) AVPlayerViewController * contentPlayerViewController ; @end ... - ( void ) setupContentPlayer { // Create a content video player. NSURL * contentURL = [ NSURL URLWithString : kContentURLString ]; AVPlayer * player = [ AVPlayer playerWithURL : contentURL ]; self . contentPlayerViewController = [[ AVPlayerViewController alloc ] init ]; self . contentPlayerViewController . player = player ; self . contentPlayerViewController . view . frame = self . view . bounds ; self . contentPlayhead = [[ IMAAVPlayerContentPlayhead alloc ] initWithAVPlayer : self . contentPlayerViewController . player ]; // Track end of content. AVPlayerItem * contentPlayerItem = self . contentPlayerViewController . player . currentItem ; [ NSNotificationCenter . defaultCenter addObserver : self selector : @selector ( contentDidFinishPlaying : ) name : AVPlayerItemDidPlayToEndTimeNotification object : contentPlayerItem ]; // Attach content video player to view hierarchy. [ self showContentPlayer ]; } ... - ( void ) contentDidFinishPlaying : ( NSNotification * ) notification {} - ( void ) dealloc { [ NSNotificationCenter . defaultCenter removeObserver : self ]; } @end
Swift
... class ViewController : UIViewController { static let ContentURLString = "https://storage.googleapis.com/interactive-media-ads/media/stock.mp4" var contentPlayhead : IMAAVPlayerContentPlayhead ? var playerViewController : AVPlayerViewController ! deinit { NotificationCenter . default . removeObserver ( self ) } ... func setUpContentPlayer () { // Load AVPlayer with path to your content. let contentURL ! = URL ( string : ViewController . ContentURLString ) let player = AVPlayer ( url : contentURL ) playerViewController = AVPlayerViewController () playerViewController . player = player // Set up your content playhead and contentComplete callback. contentPlayhead = IMAAVPlayerContentPlayhead ( avPlayer : player ) NotificationCenter . default . addObserver ( self , selector : #selector ( ViewController . contentDidFinishPlaying ( _ :)), name : NSNotification . Name . AVPlayerItemDidPlayToEndTime , object : player . currentItem ); showContentPlayer () } ... @objc func contentDidFinishPlaying ( _ notification : Notification ) { adsLoader . contentComplete () } }
6. Initialize the ads loader and make an ads request
In order to request a set of ads, you need to create an IMAAdsLoader
instance.
This loader can be used to process IMAAdsRequest
objects associated with a
specified ad tag URL.
As a best practice, only maintain one instance of IMAAdsLoader
for the entire
lifecycle of your app. To make additional ad requests, create a new IMAAdsRequest
object, but re-use the same IMAAdsLoader
. For more
information, see the IMA SDK FAQ
.
ViewController.m
Objective-C
... NSString * const kContentURLString = @"https://storage.googleapis.com/interactive-media-ads/media/stock.mp4" ; NSString * const kAdTagURLString = @"https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?" @"iu=/21775744923/external/vmap_ad_samples&sz=640x480&" @"cust_params=sample_ar%3Dpremidpostlongpod&" @"ciu_szs=300x250&gdfp_req=1&ad_rule=1&output=vmap&unviewed_position_start=1&" @"env=vp&cmsid=496&vid=short_onecue&correlator=" ; @interface ViewController () @property ( nonatomic ) IMAAdsLoader * adsLoader ; @property ( nonatomic ) IMAAVPlayerContentPlayhead * contentPlayhead ; @property ( nonatomic ) AVPlayerViewController * contentPlayerViewController ; @end @implementation ViewController - ( void ) viewDidLoad { [ super viewDidLoad ]; self . view . backgroundColor = UIColor . blackColor ; [ self setupContentPlayer ]; [ self setupAdsLoader ]; } - ( void ) viewDidAppear: ( BOOL ) animated { [ super viewDidAppear : animated ]; [ self requestAds ]; } - ( void ) setupAdsLoader { self . adsLoader = [[ IMAAdsLoader alloc ] init ]; } - ( void ) requestAds { // Pass the main view as the container for ad display. IMAAdDisplayContainer * adDisplayContainer = [[ IMAAdDisplayContainer alloc ] initWithAdContainer : self . view ]; IMAAdsRequest * request = [[ IMAAdsRequest alloc ] initWithAdTagUrl : kAdTagURLString adDisplayContainer : adDisplayContainer contentPlayhead : self . contentPlayhead userContext : nil ]; [ self . adsLoader requestAdsWithRequest : request ]; } ... - ( void ) contentDidFinishPlaying: ( NSNotification * ) notification { // Notify the SDK that the postrolls should be played. [ self . adsLoader contentComplete ]; } ... @end
Swift
... class ViewController : UIViewController { static let ContentURLString = "https://storage.googleapis.com/interactive-media-ads/media/stock.mp4" static let AdTagURLString = "https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?iu=/21775744923/external/single_ad_samples&sz=640x480&cust_params=sample_ct%3Dlinear&ciu_szs=300x250%2C728x90&gdfp_req=1&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&env=vp&correlator=" var adsLoader : IMAAdsLoader ! var contentPlayhead : IMAAVPlayerContentPlayhead ? var playerViewController : AVPlayerViewController ! ... override func viewDidLoad () { super . viewDidLoad () self . view . backgroundColor = UIColor . black ; setUpContentPlayer () setUpAdsLoader () } override func viewDidAppear ( _ animated : Bool ) { super . viewDidAppear ( animated ); requestAds () } ... func setUpAdsLoader () { adsLoader = IMAAdsLoader ( settings : nil ) } func requestAds () { // Create ad display container for ad rendering. let adDisplayContainer = IMAAdDisplayContainer ( adContainer : self . view ) // Create an ad request with your ad tag, display container, and optional user context. let request = IMAAdsRequest ( adTagUrl : ViewController . AdTagURLString , adDisplayContainer : adDisplayContainer , contentPlayhead : contentPlayhead , userContext : nil ) adsLoader . requestAds ( with : request ) } @objc func contentDidFinishPlaying ( _ notification : Notification ) { adsLoader . contentComplete () } }
7. Set up an ads loader delegate
On a successful load event, the IMAAdsLoader
calls the adsLoadedWithData
method of its assigned delegate, passing it an instance of IMAAdsManager
. You
can then initialize the ads manager, which loads the individual ads, as defined
by the response to the ad tag URL.
In addition, be sure to handle any errors that may occur during the loading process. If ads do not load, make sure that media playback continues, without ads, so as to not interfere with the user's experience.
ViewController.m
Objective-C
... @interface ViewController () < IMAAdsLoaderDelegate > @property ( nonatomic ) IMAAdsLoader * adsLoader ; @property ( nonatomic ) IMAAdsManager * adsManager ; @property ( nonatomic ) IMAAVPlayerContentPlayhead * contentPlayhead ; @property ( nonatomic ) AVPlayerViewController * contentPlayerViewController ; @end @implementation ViewController ... - ( void ) setupAdsLoader { self . adsLoader = [[ IMAAdsLoader alloc ] init ]; self . adsLoader . delegate = self ; } ... #pragma mark - IMAAdsLoaderDelegate - ( void ) adsLoader : ( IMAAdsLoader * ) loader adsLoadedWithData : ( IMAAdsLoadedData * ) adsLoadedData { // Initialize and listen to the ads manager loaded for this request. self . adsManager = adsLoadedData . adsManager ; [ self . adsManager initializeWithAdsRenderingSettings : nil ]; } - ( void ) adsLoader : ( IMAAdsLoader * ) loader failedWithErrorData : ( IMAAdLoadingErrorData * ) adErrorData { // Fall back to playing content. NSLog ( @"Error loading ads: %@" , adErrorData . adError . message ); [ self . contentPlayerViewController . player play ]; } @end
Swift
... class ViewController : UIViewController , IMAAdsLoaderDelegate { ... var adsLoader : IMAAdsLoader ! var adsManager : IMAAdsManager ! var contentPlayhead : IMAAVPlayerContentPlayhead ? var playerViewController : AVPlayerViewController ! ... func setUpAdsLoader () { adsLoader = IMAAdsLoader ( settings : nil ) adsLoader . delegate = self } ... // MARK: - IMAAdsLoaderDelegate func adsLoader ( _ loader : IMAAdsLoader !, adsLoadedWith adsLoadedData : IMAAdsLoadedData !) { adsManager = adsLoadedData . adsManager adsManager . initialize ( with : nil ) } func adsLoader ( _ loader : IMAAdsLoader !, failedWith adErrorData : IMAAdLoadingErrorData !) { print ( "Error loading ads: " + adErrorData . adError . message ) showContentPlayer () playerViewController . player ?. play () } }
8. Set up an ads manager delegate
Lastly, to manage events and state changes, the ads manager needs a delegate of
its own. The IMAAdManagerDelegate
has methods to handle ad events and errors,
as well as methods to trigger play and pause on your video content.
Starting playback
There are many events that the didReceiveAdEvent
method can be used to handle,
but for this basic example, simply listen for the LOADED
event to tell the ads
manager to start playback of content and ads.
ViewController.m
Objective-C
@interface ViewController () < IMAAdsLoaderDelegate , IMAAdsManagerDelegate > ... - ( void ) adsLoader : ( IMAAdsLoader * ) loader adsLoadedWithData : ( IMAAdsLoadedData * ) adsLoadedData { // Initialize and listen to the ads manager loaded for this request. self . adsManager = adsLoadedData . adsManager ; self . adsManager . delegate = self ; [ self . adsManager initializeWithAdsRenderingSettings : nil ]; } ... #pragma mark - IMAAdsManagerDelegate - ( void ) adsManager : ( IMAAdsManager * ) adsManager didReceiveAdEvent : ( IMAAdEvent * ) event { // Play each ad once it has loaded. if ( event . type == kIMAAdEvent_LOADED ) { [ adsManager start ]; } } ...
Swift
... class ViewController : UIViewController , IMAAdsLoaderDelegate , IMAAdsManagerDelegate { ... func adsLoader ( _ loader : IMAAdsLoader !, adsLoadedWith adsLoadedData : IMAAdsLoadedData !) { // Grab the instance of the IMAAdsManager and set yourself as the delegate. adsManager = adsLoadedData . adsManager adsManager . delegate = self adsManager . initialize ( with : nil ) } ... // MARK: - IMAAdsManagerDelegate func adsManager ( _ adsManager : IMAAdsManager !, didReceive event : IMAAdEvent !) { // Play each ad once it has been loaded if event . type == IMAAdEventType . LOADED { adsManager . start () } } ...
Handling errors
Add a handler for ad errors as well. If an error occurs, like in the previous step, resume content playback.
ViewController.m
Objective-C
... - ( void ) adsManager : ( IMAAdsManager * ) adsManager didReceiveAdError : ( IMAAdError * ) error { // Fall back to playing content. NSLog ( @"AdsManager error: %@" , error . message ); [ self showContentPlayer ]; [ self . contentPlayerViewController . player play ]; } @end
Swift
... func adsManager ( _ adsManager : IMAAdsManager !, didReceive error : IMAAdError !) { // Fall back to playing content print ( "AdsManager error: " + error . message ) showContentPlayer () playerViewController . player ?. play () }
Triggering play and pause events
The last two delegate methods you need to implement are used to trigger play and pause events on the underlying video content, when requested by the IMA SDK. Triggering pause and play when requested prevents the user from missing portions of the video content when ads are displayed.
ViewController.m
Objective-C
... - ( void ) adsManagerDidRequestContentPause : ( IMAAdsManager * ) adsManager { // Pause the content for the SDK to play ads. [ self . contentPlayerViewController . player pause ]; [ self hideContentPlayer ]; } - ( void ) adsManagerDidRequestContentResume : ( IMAAdsManager * ) adsManager { // Resume the content since the SDK is done playing ads (at least for now). [ self showContentPlayer ]; [ self . contentPlayerViewController . player play ]; } @end
Swift
... func adsManagerDidRequestContentPause ( _ adsManager : IMAAdsManager !) { // Pause the content for the SDK to play ads. playerViewController . player ?. pause () hideContentPlayer () } func adsManagerDidRequestContentResume ( _ adsManager : IMAAdsManager !) { // Resume the content since the SDK is done playing ads (at least for now). showContentPlayer () playerViewController . player ?. play () } }
That's it! You're now requesting and displaying ads with the IMA SDK. To learn about additional SDK features, see the other guides or the samples on GitHub .
Next Steps
To maximize ad revenue on the tvOS platform, request App Transparency and Tracking permission to use IDFA .
