DocumentationAnalyticsStreaming media services guide

Ad break start time

Last update: May 28, 2026

CREATED FOR:

  • Developer

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

style
shade-box

The ad break start time variable is the offset of the ad break inside the content, measured in seconds. For a pre-roll the value is 0; for a mid-roll the value is the playhead position at which the break begins.

Property
Value
Context data variable
a.media.ad.podSecond
XDM collection field
xdm.mediaCollection.advertisingPodDetails.offset
Audience Manager trait
c_contextdata.a.media.ad.podSecond
Required
Yes
Sent with
Ad break start, ad close
Web SDK

Set offset inside xdm.mediaCollection.advertisingPodDetails when calling sendEvent:

code language-javascript 
alloy("sendEvent", {
  xdm: {
    eventType: "media.adBreakStart",
    mediaCollection: {
      advertisingPodDetails: {
        friendlyName: "mid-roll-1",
        index: 2,
        offset: 90
      },
      sessionID: "{sid}",
      playhead: 90
    }
  }
});
iOS

Pass the start time in seconds as the third argument to createAdBreakObject.

code language-swift 
let adBreakObject = Media.createAdBreakObjectWith(name: "mid-roll-1",
                                              position: 2,
                                             startTime: 90)

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

Pass the start time in seconds as the third argument to createAdBreakObject.

code language-kotlin 
val adBreakObject = Media.createAdBreakObject("mid-roll-1",
                                              2L,
                                              90.0)

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

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

code language-brightscript 
m.aepSdk.sendMediaEvent({
    "xdm": {
        "eventType": "media.adBreakStart",
        "mediaCollection": {
            "advertisingPodDetails": {
                "friendlyName": "mid-roll-1",
                "index": 2,
                "offset": 90
            },
            "playhead": 90
        }
    }
})
Media Edge API

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

code language-json 
{
  "events": [{
    "xdm": {
      "eventType": "media.adBreakStart",
      "mediaCollection": {
        "advertisingPodDetails": {
          "index": 2,
          "offset": 90
        },
        "sessionID": "{sid}",
        "playhead": 90
      }
    }
  }]
}

Legacy implementation types (Analytics-only)

Media SDK JS 3.x

Pass the start time as the third argument to ADB.Media.createAdBreakObject:

code language-javascript 
var adBreakInfo = ADB.Media.createAdBreakObject(
  "mid-roll-1",
  2,
  90
);

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

Pass the start time in seconds as the third argument to ADBMobile.media.createAdBreakObject:

code language-javascript 
var adBreakInfo = ADBMobile.media.createAdBreakObject(
  "mid-roll-1",
  2,
  90
);
ADBMobile.media.trackEvent(ADBMobile.media.Event.AdBreakStart, adBreakInfo);
Media Collection API

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

code language-json 
{
  "playerTime": { "playhead": 90, "ts": 1699523820000 },
  "eventType": "adBreakStart",
  "params": {
    "media.ad.podSecond": 90
  }
}

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

recommendation-more-help
media-analytics-help