Glossary

Live stream advertising glossary

Plain-English definitions of the terms you'll meet when you sell or buy sponsor slots on live streams — from browser sources to payment authorizations.

A B C D E F I L O P Q S U V

Ad slot: A block of time you can buy on a live stream. On AD on Live a slot is measured in minutes (1–60 per booking) and shows one advertiser's banner for that whole time.
Aspect ratio: The proportion between an image's width and height, written as width:height (for example 3:1 for a 300×100 banner). A banner must match the streamer's aspect ratio or it will be cropped or distorted.
Auto-approve: A streamer setting that accepts paid ad requests automatically instead of waiting for a manual review. It is convenient while you are live, but it means you cannot screen each ad first.
Average viewers: The mean number of people watching a stream over its duration. It is a steadier measure of audience size than the peak viewer count.
Bitrate: The amount of video data sent per second, usually in kilobits per second (kbps). Low bitrates blur small details, which is why on-stream QR codes and text need to be large and high-contrast.
Booking page: A streamer's public page on AD on Live (adonlive.com/s/channel-name) where anyone can buy an ad slot on that stream without an account.
Brand safety: Making sure an ad does not appear next to content that could damage the advertiser's reputation — and, for streamers, making sure an ad does not hurt their channel. Manual approval is the simplest brand-safety control.
Branded content: Content made or shown in exchange for payment or free products from a brand. Most platforms and advertising regulators require it to be clearly disclosed to viewers.
Browser source: A source type in OBS Studio and similar broadcasting software that renders a web page inside your video. Overlay services, alerts and chat boxes are usually added this way.
Capture (payment): The step that actually moves money after a payment has been authorized. AD on Live captures the advertiser's PayPal authorization only when the streamer approves the ad.
Concurrent viewers (CCV): The number of people watching a live stream at the same moment. Peak and average concurrent viewers are the most common ways to describe a stream's audience size.
CPC (cost per click): A pricing model where an advertiser pays each time someone clicks the ad.
CPM (cost per mille): A pricing model where an advertiser pays for every 1,000 impressions (views) of an ad. Useful for comparing prices across channels, including time-based stream slots.
Disclosure: A clear statement telling viewers that content is sponsored or paid, such as saying it out loud and labeling it on screen. Required in many countries and by most streaming platforms.
Error correction (QR): Redundant data built into a QR code so it still scans when part of it is blurred or covered. Higher levels make the code more robust but denser.
Flat-fee sponsorship: A deal where a brand pays a fixed amount for a set of deliverables — for example a mention in every stream for a month — regardless of the audience that results.
Idle overlay: What an AD on Live overlay shows when no ad is running: a QR code to the streamer's booking page and the price per minute, so the next slot can be sold on stream.
Impression: One display of an ad to one viewer. Live overlays are seen by everyone watching, but AD on Live does not count impressions; it reports QR scans and clicks.
Lower third: A graphic placed in the lower part of the video frame, traditionally used for names and captions. Many sponsor banners are designed as lower thirds.
OBS Studio: Free, open-source software for recording and live streaming, widely used on Twitch, YouTube and Kick. It combines sources such as cameras, games and browser sources into scenes.
Overlay: Graphics layered on top of a stream's video — alerts, frames, chat, sponsor banners. Because the overlay is part of the video itself, everyone watching sees it, including people using ad blockers.
Pay-per-minute advertising: Buying ad time on a live stream by the minute at a price set by the streamer, instead of paying per impression or per click.
Payment authorization: A temporary hold of funds on the buyer's account that confirms the money is available without charging it yet. The hold is later captured (charged) or voided (released).
Peak viewers: The highest number of concurrent viewers a stream reached. Impressive for marketing, but average viewers says more about what an ad will see.
QR code: A square barcode that phones can scan with the camera to open a link. On a stream it lets viewers jump from the video to a website in a few seconds.
Quiet zone: The empty margin required around a QR code so scanners can find its edges. Placing a code directly against a busy background makes it harder to scan.
Scene (OBS): A saved layout of sources in OBS Studio — for example "Gameplay" or "Just chatting". An overlay has to be added to every scene where it should appear.
Short link: A compact redirect URL (on AD on Live, adonlive.com/r/code) that sends people to the advertiser's site while counting each scan or click.
UTM parameters: Tags added to the end of a URL (such as utm_source and utm_campaign) that tell analytics tools like Google Analytics where a visit came from.
VOD: Video on demand — a recording of a past broadcast. Overlays are part of the video, so a banner that was on screen live also appears in VODs and clips the streamer keeps.
Void (authorization): Cancelling a payment authorization so the held funds are released and the buyer is never charged. AD on Live voids authorizations for rejected or expired ad requests.

New to stream sponsorships? Start with what stream overlay ads are or see how AD on Live works.