Migrating channels

AdCP 3.0 replaces v2’s 9 channels with 20 planning-oriented channels that reflect how buyers allocate budgets. Five channels carry over unchanged, the rest are split, removed, or renamed, and several channels — including sponsored_intelligence for AI surfaces — are net-new in v3 with no v2 equivalent.

Why the channel model changed

v2 mixed format-oriented channels (video, audio, native) with planning-oriented ones (social, ctv, dooh). Buyers don’t plan budgets around rendering technology — they plan around media types. A video budget gets split between OLV, CTV, and cinema. An audio budget spans radio, streaming, and podcasts. v3 channels consistently match how agencies structure media plans.

Channel mapping

v2 channel	v3 channel(s)	Notes
`display`	`display`	Unchanged
`video`	`olv`, `linear_tv`, `cinema`	Split by distribution (`ctv` was already separate in v2)
`audio`	`radio`, `streaming_audio`	Split by distribution (`podcast` was already separate in v2)
`native`	Removed	Use format-level properties instead
`social`	`social`	Unchanged
`ctv`	`ctv`	Unchanged
`podcast`	`podcast`	Unchanged
`dooh`	`dooh`	Unchanged
`retail`	`retail_media`	Renamed for clarity

Complete v3 channel enum

All 20 values from the channels.json schema:

display, olv, social, search, ctv, linear_tv,
radio, streaming_audio, podcast, dooh, ooh,
print, cinema, email, gaming, retail_media,
influencer, affiliate, product_placement,
sponsored_intelligence

Channel	Description
`display`	Digital display advertising (banners, native, rich media) across web and app
`olv`	Online video advertising outside CTV (pre-roll, outstream, in-app video)
`social`	Social media platforms
`search`	Search engine advertising and search networks
`ctv`	Connected TV and streaming on television screens
`linear_tv`	Traditional broadcast and cable television
`radio`	Traditional AM/FM radio broadcast
`streaming_audio`	Digital audio streaming services
`podcast`	Podcast advertising (host-read or dynamically inserted)
`dooh`	Digital out-of-home screens in public spaces
`ooh`	Classic out-of-home (physical billboards, transit, etc.)
`print`	Newspapers, magazines, and other print publications
`cinema`	Movie theater advertising
`email`	Email advertising and sponsored newsletter content
`gaming`	In-game advertising across platforms (intrinsic in-game, rewarded video, playable ads)
`retail_media`	Retail media networks and commerce marketplaces
`influencer`	Creator and influencer marketing partnerships
`affiliate`	Affiliate networks, comparison sites, and performance-based partnerships
`product_placement`	Product placement, branded content, and sponsorship integrations
`sponsored_intelligence`	Sponsored Intelligence — advertising within AI assistants, AI search, and generative AI experiences via the reversed data flow (net-new in v3; no v2 equivalent)

The gaming channel covers all in-game advertising. Rewarded video in gaming apps could also be classified as olv — use gaming when the inventory comes from a gaming budget, olv when it comes from a video budget.

Migrating `video` products

The v2 video channel must be split across 3 v3 channels based on distribution (ctv was already a separate v2 channel):

olv — Online video (web, mobile app, social): pre-roll, outstream, in-app video
linear_tv — Traditional broadcast and cable television
cinema — Movie theater pre-show advertising

A single publisher may support multiple channels. A streaming service might declare both olv and ctv if their inventory serves both mobile and TV.

Migrating `audio` products

The v2 audio channel splits into 2 v3 channels (podcast was already a separate v2 channel):

radio — Traditional AM/FM radio broadcast
streaming_audio — Digital audio streaming services (music platforms)

Migrating `native` products

v3 removes native as a channel. Native is a rendering style, not a budget category. If you have products tagged native in v2, assign the appropriate v3 channel based on how the budget is planned:

Native display ads -> display
Native social ads -> social
Native content recommendations -> display or affiliate depending on model

Migrating `retail` products

Simple rename from retail to retail_media.

Multi-channel products

v3 products declare an array of channels, so a single product can span multiple channels. Here’s a capabilities response showing a seller that supports multiple channels:

{
  "$schema": "https://adcontextprotocol.org/schemas/3.2.0-beta.0/protocol/get-adcp-capabilities-response.json",
  "status": "completed",
  "adcp": {
    "major_versions": [3],
    "idempotency": { "supported": true, "replay_ttl_seconds": 86400 }
  },
  "supported_protocols": ["media_buy"],
  "account": {
    "supported_billing": ["operator", "agent"],
    "supported_account_currency_modes": ["fixed", "per_media_buy"]
  },
  "media_buy": {
    "portfolio": {
      "primary_channels": ["display", "olv", "ctv"],
      "publisher_domains": ["pinnaclemedia.example.com"],
      "primary_countries": ["US"]
    }
  }
}

When products are returned from get_products, each product’s channels array declares which channels that product is sold as:

{
  "channels": ["olv", "ctv"]
}

Declaring channel support in capabilities

Buyers should call get_adcp_capabilities before filtering get_products requests. When present, portfolio.primary_channels is the seller’s complete brief-routing channel allowlist, so a buyer may skip the seller when no requested channel intersects it. Omission means unknown scope, not support for every channel. A match is not an availability guarantee; call get_products to resolve current inventory and the rest of the brief. AdCP 3.2 applies the same exhaustive routing meaning to portfolio.primary_countries. Sellers upgrading from 3.1 that populated either primary_* array with only representative values MUST expand it to the complete brief-routing scope or omit it until they can do so. Empty and duplicate arrays remain wire-valid in 3.2 for compatibility but produce Canary advisories; 4.0 is expected to require non-empty, unique declarations. The country array does not replace media_buy.execution.targeting geo capabilities or product overlay_support.

Migration steps

Audit channel usage

Find all places your code reads or writes channel values.

Map old to new

Use the mapping table above to convert each value. Note that display, social, ctv, podcast, and dooh are unchanged.

Handle multi-mapping

Where v2 video or audio maps to multiple v3 channels, classify each product by its distribution context.

Update filters

If your buyer agent filters by channel, update to the new values.

Update capabilities

Implement get_adcp_capabilities with correct channel declarations.

Test validation

v3 schema validation will reject old channel values like video, audio, native, and retail.

Media channel taxonomy

Full definitions and design rationale for all 20 v3 channels.

Getting Started

Building with AdCP

Protocol

Using AAO

FAQ

Trust & Security

Reference

Certification

Migrating channels

Migrating channels

Why the channel model changed

Channel mapping

Complete v3 channel enum

Migrating `video` products

Migrating `audio` products

Migrating `native` products

Migrating `retail` products

Multi-channel products

Declaring channel support in capabilities

Migration steps

Media channel taxonomy

​Migrating channels

​Why the channel model changed

​Channel mapping

​Complete v3 channel enum

​Migrating video products

​Migrating audio products

​Migrating native products

​Migrating retail products

​Multi-channel products

​Declaring channel support in capabilities

​Migration steps

Media channel taxonomy

Migrating channels

Why the channel model changed

Channel mapping

Complete v3 channel enum

Migrating `video` products

Migrating `audio` products

Migrating `native` products

Migrating `retail` products

Multi-channel products

Declaring channel support in capabilities

Migration steps