What is a Channel?

A channel is the bridge between your app or content property and the ITG platform. It tells ITG where an ad request is coming from, so the system can deliver the right ads to the right content.

Think of a channel as a named destination — for example, "Sports App CTV" or "Planet earth - EP1" Every time a viewer watches content in your app, ITG uses the channel identity to decide which ad campaigns should run there.

Each channel has a unique identifier called a Channel Slug. This is the key, determined by you, that connects what happens in the app to everything configured in the admin — signals, campaigns, and reporting all reference the channel by its slug.

How to Create and Configure a Channel

  1. In the left sidebar, navigate to Channels and click Create Channel.
  2. Give the channel a clear, descriptive name (e.g., "Planet Earth — EP1").
  3. Determine your Channel Slug — this is the identifier that identifies the specific content of the channel. it is determined by your organization. your development team must be aligned as it will be used in the app integration.
  4. Configure the channel's Signals (ad scheduling rules) — these define when and how ads are delivered on this channel. You can follow the signaling and scheduling guide for further details.
  5. Optionally, add Additional Metadata (advanced settings via JSON) to control behaviors like logging, memory management, or device-specific rules.
  6. Save the channel. It's now ready to be linked to campaigns.

💡 The Channel Slug must match exactly what the development team configures in the app. A mismatch means no ads will be served.

Virtual channel

A virtual channel is a channel that represents a group or category of content — like a series, a genre, or a show — rather than a single specific piece of content. It allows you to target and manage ads at a higher level, so that one campaign setting can automatically apply to everything within that group.

A virtual channel is created in the admin exactly the same way as a regular channel. There is no difference in how you set it up — same form, same fields, same process.

The distinction happens on the integration side: the development team decides which channels to pass as the main channel and which to pass as virtual channels in the SDK request. When a channel is passed as a virtual channel, ITG treats it as a secondary targeting layer that runs alongside the main channel.

Key things to know about virtual channels: