DocumentationAnalyticsStreaming media services guide

Ad break name

Last update: May 28, 2026

CREATED FOR:

  • Developer

This page covers data collection for the Ad break name variable. See Pod name for the corresponding reporting dimension.

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The ad break name variable is the friendly name of the ad break (for example, "pre-roll", "mid-roll-1", "post-roll"). The value is set on the ad-break object, not on individual ads.

Property
Value
Context data variable
a.media.ad.podFriendlyName
XDM collection field
xdm.mediaCollection.advertisingPodDetails.friendlyName
Audience Manager trait
c_contextdata.a.media.ad.podFriendlyName
Required
Yes (Mobile SDK); No (Edge, Media Collection API)
Sent with
Ad break start, ad close
Web SDK

Set friendlyName inside xdm.mediaCollection.advertisingPodDetails when calling sendEvent for media.adBreakStart:

code language-javascript 
alloy("sendEvent", {
  xdm: {
    eventType: "media.adBreakStart",
    mediaCollection: {
      advertisingPodDetails: {
        friendlyName: "pre-roll",
        index: 1,
        offset: 0
      },
      sessionID: "{sid}",
      playhead: 0
    }
  }
});
iOS

Pass the ad break name as the first (name) argument to createAdBreakObject, then track the ad-break-start event before the ad-start event.

code language-swift 
let adBreakObject = Media.createAdBreakObjectWith(name: "pre-roll",
                                              position: 1,
                                             startTime: 0)

tracker.trackEvent(event: MediaEvent.AdBreakStart, info: adBreakObject, metadata: nil)
Android

Pass the ad break name as the first (name) argument to createAdBreakObject, then track the ad-break-start event before the ad-start event.

code language-kotlin 
val adBreakObject = Media.createAdBreakObject("pre-roll",
                                              1L,
                                              0.0)

tracker.trackEvent(Media.Event.AdBreakStart, adBreakObject, null)
Roku

Set friendlyName inside xdm.mediaCollection.advertisingPodDetails when calling sendMediaEvent for media.adBreakStart:

code language-brightscript 
m.aepSdk.sendMediaEvent({
    "xdm": {
        "eventType": "media.adBreakStart",
        "mediaCollection": {
            "advertisingPodDetails": {
                "friendlyName": "pre-roll",
                "index": 1,
                "offset": 0
            },
            "playhead": 0
        }
    }
})
Media Edge API

Call the adBreakStart endpoint with friendlyName inside xdm.mediaCollection.advertisingPodDetails:

code language-json 
{
  "events": [{
    "xdm": {
      "eventType": "media.adBreakStart",
      "mediaCollection": {
        "advertisingPodDetails": {
          "friendlyName": "pre-roll",
          "index": 1,
          "offset": 0
        },
        "sessionID": "{sid}",
        "playhead": 0
      }
    }
  }]
}

Legacy implementation types (Analytics-only)

Media SDK JS 3.x

Pass the ad break name as the first argument to ADB.Media.createAdBreakObject:

code language-javascript 
var adBreakInfo = ADB.Media.createAdBreakObject(
  "pre-roll",
  1,
  0
);

tracker.trackEvent(ADB.Media.Event.AdBreakStart, adBreakInfo, null);
Chromecast

Pass the ad break name as the first argument to ADBMobile.media.createAdBreakObject:

code language-javascript 
var adBreakInfo = ADBMobile.media.createAdBreakObject(
  "pre-roll",
  1,
  0
);
ADBMobile.media.trackEvent(ADBMobile.media.Event.AdBreakStart, adBreakInfo);
Media Collection API

Include media.ad.podFriendlyName in the params object of your adBreakStart POST request:

code language-json 
{
  "playerTime": { "playhead": 0, "ts": 1699523820000 },
  "eventType": "adBreakStart",
  "params": {
    "media.ad.podFriendlyName": "pre-roll"
  }
}

See the Media Collection API events reference for the full request structure.

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