[yummyfajitas]

This article uses very odd language.

Traders buying and reselling at a higher rate “could be distorting the markets and removing the efficiency that we’re supposed to see through real-time bidding,” he said.

By definition successful arbitrage makes the market more efficient - it brings prices closer together (making the cheaper exchange more expensive and the more expensive one cheaper).

Furthermore, arbitragers in ad exchanges are causing more ads to be sold, providing a valuable service to buyers and sellers.

Suppose there is a sell order on exchange X, a buy order on exchange Y, and these orders are compatible. Unlike public equities markets (which have RegNMS) this order may NOT be routed from X to Y. The result is inventory is wasted or put to a lower value use.

If an arbitrageur notices this he can cause the transaction to occur which would not otherwise occur.

[krisdol]

>By definition successful arbitrage makes the market more efficient - it brings prices closer together (making the cheaper exchange more expensive and the more expensive one cheaper).

Agreed. As header bidding and arbitrage proliferate, we also see ad tech companies targeting the supply side of the equation: with services that help publishers understand how well the header bidding product is performing, which ads work and which dont, and how viewers engage with their site. As pubs are getting more information into the ad selection process, losing exchanges will have to adjust the quality or lower the prices of their ad supply.