Migrating channels

Migrate AdCP channels from v2 to v3. Maps v2’s 9 format-oriented channels to v3’s 19 planning-oriented media channels with field-by-field examples.

Migrating channels

AdCP 3.0 replaces v2’s 9 channels with 19 planning-oriented channels that reflect how buyers allocate budgets. Five channels carry over unchanged, while the rest are split, removed, or renamed.

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 19 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

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

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/v3/protocol/get-adcp-capabilities-response.json",
  "adcp": {
    "major_versions": [3]
  },
  "supported_protocols": ["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 to discover which channels a seller supports before filtering get_products requests. The portfolio.primary_channels field lists the seller’s main channels.

Migration steps

1. Audit channel usage

   Find all places your code reads or writes channel values.

2. Map old to new

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

3. Handle multi-mapping

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

4. Update filters

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

5. Update capabilities

   Implement get_adcp_capabilities with correct channel declarations.

6. 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 19 v3 channels.

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Related: Pricing | Geo targeting | Creatives | Catalogs | Attribution | AdCP 3.0 overview