Marketecture Podcast, Episode 140:

What is publisher data really worth? With Arcspan’s Art Muldoon

Date: September 19, 2025
Host: Ari Paparo (A), Co-host: Eric Franchi (B), Guest: Art Muldoon, CEO of Arcspan (C)

Episode Overview

This episode dives into the shifting value of publisher data amid industry disruption, privacy reforms, and the rise of AI. Ari Paparo and Eric Franchi interview Art Muldoon, CEO of Arcspan—a company focused on amplifying publisher data value—about the evolving challenges and opportunities publishers face. The conversation also covers industry news: platform M&A, the ongoing TID (transaction ID) debate, AI in advertising, and regulatory changes.

Arcspan: Vision and Approach

Guest: Art Muldoon

What is Arcspan? (05:45–08:40)

• Arcspan is a “sell side audience monetization platform” helping publishers turn their data and audience signals into scalable revenue.
• The core of Arcspan’s offering is the Audience Monetization System (AMS), an enterprise-class platform launched two years ago.
• Arcspan uses a “AAA framework” for publishers: Aggregate, Amplify, Activate.
  • Aggregate: Ingests and normalizes multiple data sources (legacy systems, CDPs, newsletters, logged-in users, etc.) for publishers.
  • Amplify: Uses tools and models (including AI) to build and scale audiences, with quality filtering.
  • Activate: Enables publishers to execute and manage audience deals efficiently across environments.

“If you’re a publisher, your first-party data can reside in a whole rat’s nest of locations... We try to really process, ingest, organize and normalize all of those sources of signal into, you know, being a super signal aggregator.”
— Art Muldoon (07:01)

• Arcspan positions itself globally, serving customers in North America, EMEA, and APAC.
• Muldoon likens Arcspan’s value to being “somewhat like the DJ for publishers: we mix, we amplify, we drop the beats so that publishers actually get paid.” (08:28)

Notable Moment:
Muldoon's DJ analogy surprises Paparo and Franchi, leading to a lighthearted tone (08:40–08:57).

Changing Value of Publisher Data

The Old Critique of Publisher Data (08:57–11:30)

• Historically, publisher first-party data lacked scale; advertisers preferred third-party data even if less accurate.
• Arcspan’s approach helps publishers monetize up to 100% of their audience vs. the former 30% "addressable" norm, through contextual processing and layering in third-party data enhancements.
• Publishers are increasingly using new sources: polls, surveys, diverse opt-in environments.
• AI-driven modeling is raising quality and scale potential for publisher data.

Trust and Transparency (11:30–12:41)

• Advertisers need to trust sell-side data. Arcspan acts as a neutral third-party, offering data processing standards and transparency.
• Platforms are evolving to provide consistent quality controls and transparent reporting to buyers.

“We are really endeavoring to be that additional third party... so that there’s an understanding from the buy side with transparency and controls how the data is processed, how audience quality is determined...”
— Art Muldoon (11:47)

Fundraising & Market Climate

Arcspan just closed a funding round

• Fundraising for ad tech is challenging; investors “are being very selective” (12:51–14:31).
• Successful pitch centered on solving a real problem for publishers who are “under assault,” and on differentiated, AI-driven technology addressing disrupted revenue models.
• There’s a recognized need for supply-side (publisher) health to balance the ecosystem, not just buy-side innovation.

The "Death" of the Open Web; Evolution, not Demise

(14:31–16:44)

• The open web is facing challenges but isn’t dead: “It’s evolving and there's a reformulation taking place.” (14:57)
• Shift to direct deals, PMPs, and curated marketplaces as advertisers seek transparency and quality.
• Publishers’ largest revenue sources have not always been in open web inventory, but tools are enabling new opportunities.

“But I don’t see the open web going away. I think it’s a flight to quality and standards that prove quality.”
— Art Muldoon (16:41)

TID (Transaction ID) Controversy

(16:44–18:13)

• TID (unique identifier for deduplication in programmatic buying) is hotly debated.
• Arcspan is wary of buy-side deduplication being used to disadvantage publishers; calls for policies to prioritize publishers’ interests.
• Paparo notes the likelihood of compromise due to buy-side pressure (30:53).

The Role and Value of Curation

(18:13–21:02)

• Arcspan is developing curation tools “with transparency and control for the publishers.”
• Historically, curation often meant third-party margin “siphoning” with limited revenue uplift or insight for publishers.
• Now, publishers demand more accountability for how their data is used and are skeptical of curation’s strategic value.

“They sort of begrudgingly participate. But I have really heard from very few publishers who say curation is like the, the real opportunity and is really driving their business.”
— Art Muldoon (20:26)

• Industry verticals differ: e.g., gaming requires deep taxonomies beyond IAB standards; contextual and curation strategies must adjust accordingly.

Publisher Data: Segmentation and Vertical Specifics

(21:02–21:59)

• Publishers’ capability to monetize data varies by vertical (news vs. gaming vs. sports).
• Custom taxonomies and evolving context are necessary for deeper targeting.

Macro Investment Themes: Buy-Side vs. Sell-Side

(22:09–24:02)

• Franchi observes growing opportunity on the sell-side (publishers), especially as buy-side dominance faces scrutiny and as premium publishers retain strong audience pull.
• AI, CTV, and retail media are driving new sell-side opportunities.

“When everybody is saying something, you should pause and question, like wait a minute, if everybody’s saying this thing, is this really true? ... I think that there’s business models evolving right now that are going to address [publishers’] needs and be great businesses.”
— Eric Franchi (22:34)

Audience Fragmentation & AI

(24:02–25:42)

• Muldoon: Audiences constantly fragment as technology evolves (podcasts, gaming, open web, etc.), and advertising adapts.
• The key to viability: addressability, accuracy, trust, and quality. AI is helping drive advertising into new fragmented audience groups.

Rapid-Fire Industry News & Analysis

TID, Arbitrage, and Prebid.org (26:48–31:25)

• Prebid.org removes TID support, citing privacy and risk of buy-side arbitrage.
• TID enables deduplication but can let buyers arbitrage curated deals vs. open market inventory.
• Paparo predicts Prebid will be forced to compromise due to buy-side (e.g., Trade Desk) power.

“I don’t see it sustainable that a middleman can determine a policy like this.”
— Ari Paparo (31:25)

M&A: Rembrand x Spaceback, Verve x Captify (31:28–36:53)

Rembrand’s Acquisition of Spaceback

(31:42–34:13)

• AI creative startup Rembrand acquires Spaceback (social content as ads).
• Trend: Combining generative AI with creative/ad distribution for differentiated, scalable offerings.

“It’s still the idea of bringing together accommodation... bringing together... opportunities.” — Ari Paparo (34:01)

Verve acquires Captify

(34:43–36:53)

• Captify (search intent data company) bought at a low multiple, reflecting the 'discount shopping' at play and pressures on open web/search data amid AI overviews.

“If you have a target on what would be affected most by Google’s AI overviews, it would be search intent data on landing pages.”
— Ari Paparo (36:44)

Amazon AI Creative Tools & DSP Updates (38:00–41:08)

• Amazon launches gen AI creative tools, paralleling Meta's Advantage+ and Google PMAX.
• Signals further shift toward end-to-end creative capabilities inside walled gardens.
• Yahoo DSP attracting buyers from Trade Desk by competing on rates; debate about tradeoffs in data and inventory.

Trade Desk: Stubborn or Strategic? (43:16–44:24)

• Speculation on Trade Desk’s reaction to market pressure. Paparo expects “stays the course,” emphasizing Jeff Green’s focus vs. flexibility.

Other Notable Industry News

• S4 Capital pivots aggressively to an AI-based agency model, claiming 65% of agency tasks can already be automated (44:34–45:28).
• Google privacy settlements: Potential for consumers to opt out of RTB data sharing, but Paparo sees this as "a nothing burger" unless publishers are overly reliant on one supply path (45:46–47:17).
• Magnite sues Google shortly after Pubmatic, alleging anti-competitive harm (47:19–48:38).
• TikTok US deal: finalized with Oracle, Silver Lake, and Andreessen Horowitz. 80/20 U.S.-Chinese ownership, U.S.-only app, separate algorithm. Paparo quips about ownership preferences (49:19–49:30).

Notable Quotes

• “Having us tell you that is presumably more believable as a third party than having the publisher tell you that directly.”
  — Art Muldoon (11:47)
• “...the open web is not dead. I think it’s evolving and there’s a reformulation taking place.”
  — Art Muldoon (14:57)
• “They sort of begrudgingly participate. But I have really heard from very few publishers who say curation is... really driving their business.”
  — Art Muldoon (20:26)
• “When everybody is saying something, you should pause and question... is this really true?”
  — Eric Franchi (22:34)
• “AI is having I think a very big impact in driving the viability of advertising into new and fragmented audience groups. But it requires a lot of data understanding, the addressability factor, the accuracy factor, the creation of quality which leads to trust... and you can generate scale.”
  — Art Muldoon (24:13)
• “I don’t see it sustainable that a middleman can determine a policy like this.”
  — Ari Paparo (31:25)
• “I am bought into the belief that there are audiences, human audiences that are out there and... advertising is a model that chases eyeballs.”
  — Art Muldoon (24:02)

Timestamps for Major Segments

• [05:45] – What is Arcspan? (Muldoon)
• [08:57] – Old critiques of publisher data
• [11:30] – Buy-side trust in sell-side data
• [12:51] – Fundraising environment for ad tech
• [14:31] – The “open web is dead” debate
• [16:44] – TID controversies and buy/sell-side dynamics
• [18:13] – Publisher curation complexities
• [21:02] – Publisher data strategies by vertical
• [22:09] – Buy-side vs. sell-side investment thesis (Franchi)
• [24:02] – Audience fragmentation & AI’s role
• [26:48] – News Block: TID, prebid, arbitrage
• [31:28] – M&A (Rembrand x Spaceback; Verve x Captify)
• [38:00] – DSP & AI creative tools updates (Amazon, TTD, Yahoo)
• [43:16] – The Trade Desk’s likely response
• [44:34] – S4 Capital pivots to AI agency
• [45:46] – Google RTB data sharing/privacy
• [47:19] – Magnite sues Google
• [49:11] – TikTok US deal and capitalist intrigue

Final Thoughts

The episode candidly examines publisher-side challenges and technological evolutions, with Muldoon advocating for tools and transparency that let publishers unleash the full value of their audience data. Shifting power balances among platforms, buy-side and sell-side priorities, and the relentless advance of AI form ongoing themes. The lively tone, moments of humor, and practical insider perspectives make for an insightful roundup for industry practitioners.