Same Traffic, Better Returns: A LATAM Publisher's Playbook For Monetizing VOD Site

This case study is all about what happens when a relatively new publisher stops guessing and starts placing. We show how a Spanish-language entertainment LATAM publisher partnered with Adcash and grew monthly earnings to over $1,000. The turnaround came from adding pop-unders alongside display ads (banners) and optimizing ad placement across the site. The case study shows how a format mix, placement, and a strong publisher-manager relationship can unlock real revenue. It makes a strong case to not undervalue LATAM entertainment traffic, either. 

Every publisher has to start somewhere. At first, it sounds simple. You have a site. You add ads. You walk away and earn money.

Our publisher did more than that. He worked hard on his site. But the earnings did not match the effort. The site itself was great. It was an entertainment site with movies and TV shows, made for a Latin American audience. The earnings just needed to catch up.

Then a few things changed. He joined Adcash. He started working with a publisher manager who gave him clear advice. He used the right mix of ad formats, and he learned where ads should go on the page.

The result? Over $1,296 in April 2026. $1,198 the month before. And steady weekly earnings from traffic across Latin America, Spain, and the US.</p>

A much better starting point.

The Setup

A quality VOD site in Spanish is a big opportunity for publishers. You reach a huge Spanish-speaking market. You get access to viewers across almost a whole continent. People in Spain, Mexico, Argentina, and Chile watch a lot of entertainment content. They often watch on mobile. They watch for a long time.

They come to the site to watch, read, and browse. Then they stay. That kind of attention is great for monetization. But the formats and placements have to match how people use the site.

Before joining Adcash, this LATAM publisher was earning money. But not much. The ad mix was wrong. The placements were wrong. The CPMs were low. In his own words: “Yes, I was monetizing, but it just wasn’t working well for me.”

What Changed

Two main things.

First, the ad format mix changed. Display ads stayed. But pop-unders were added. This one change made the biggest difference. Entertainment users come to the site with a clear goal. They are not just scrolling. They want to watch something. Pop-unders work well here because they do not interrupt the user. They load quietly in the background. They wait until the user finishes watching.

Second, the ad placement changed. Before, ads were placed all over the site with no clear plan. Now, display ads are placed in the best spots on the page. This made a big difference.

The right ad formats and the right placements together did what months of testing often fail to do.

The Numbers

This is a new campaign. The numbers and the setup are still improving. We want to show two things with this case study.

First, small changes can make a big difference quickly.

Second, we want to think long-term. Optimizations get better over time. We will return to this case study later in the year. We want to show how the site has grown and how our strategy is working.

Here is what March and April 2026 looked like:

Over one million unique users a month is a strong result. And the RPM stays steady at that scale. That is the real test. Anyone can have a good week. Keeping it going month after month means the setup is right.

Sign-Up Bonus

We want to help you optimize your site, too. We’re now offering at 10% cash top-up for new clients on the Adcash platform.

When signing up, use the code AD1C-0LM. Once you deposit $100 to $1,000, your bonus will be applied.* Just a little boost to give you that perfect head start.

*Top-up bonus ranges from $10-$100. Valid until June 30, 2026. New clients only.

Weekly Rhythm

Look at the weekly view, and you see something even more useful. There are no big peaks followed by big drops. Weekly earnings stay in a narrow range, mostly between $270 and $315.

This kind of stability is what publishers need. It is the kind of stability that pays the bills. It means monetization does not depend on one viral moment. It means the system is working.

For example, Week 11 earned $279 with 308,899 unique users and a $0.90 RPM. Week 14 earned $297 from 340,119 users at $0.88 RPM. Different traffic, similar earnings. That shows the format mix is working across different audiences.

The GEO Mix

This is where LATAM VOD sites really show their value. The earnings do not come from just one country. They come from across the Spanish-speaking world, plus a few other markets.

Note this: Spain’s RPM is $4.60. Chile’s is $3.62. Both are higher than most publishers expect from Spanish-language traffic. Germany came in at $3.52. The idea that LATAM and Spanish-language audiences are low-value is not true when you look at real data.

The geographic spread also protects you. When one country earns less, the others make up for it. That is why the weekly numbers stay steady.

Why VOD Converts

Entertainment users behave differently from most users. They do not leave after 30 seconds. They stay. Sessions are longer. They visit more pages. They come back often, sometimes many times a day, looking for something to watch.

This is very different from a news site, where users read a headline and leave. With entertainment, you have time. You have attention. You have repeat visits.

Display ads work because they stay visible during long sessions. Pop-unders work at natural moments, when a user finishes one video and looks for the next. Together, they cover the full session without feeling like too much.

The Honest Lesson

We asked our LATAM publisher what mistakes cost him money early on. His answer was simple and honest: “Not knowing the right formats to monetize.”

This is a common problem. Many new publishers face it. They treat the format question as an afterthought. But it is the most important thing. Wrong formats mean even great traffic earns little. The right formats mean average traffic earns more.

The lesson? Test things. Try different formats. You do not know what works until you test it.

What We Can Learn

Don’t sleep on LATAM entertainment traffic

Spanish-language audiences in Spain, Mexico, Chile, and across Latin America are earning RPMs that match traditional top markets. The vertical is undervalued. There is still room to win for LATAM publishers.

Format mix beats format obsession. 

Display ads alone were not enough. Pop-unders alone would not have been enough either. The combination, used with the right user behavior, made the numbers grow.

Placement is half the work. 

Knowing the formats is one thing. Knowing where to put them on the page is the other half. Most publishers focus on formats and forget placement.

Geographic spread is its own form of risk management. 

When earnings come from twelve countries instead of one or two, weekly performance stays steady. That is how you build something that lasts.

Conclusion

This LATAM publisher went from earning very little to consistently making over $1,000 a month. The setup is steady week after week. No tricks. No traffic hacks. Just the right formats in the right places, with strong CPMs and a vertical that gets real user attention.

The lesson for other publishers? You probably have more revenue in your traffic than you think. The real question is whether your formats and placements are doing their job.

Movies, TV, and entertainment audiences in LATAM are ready to perform. The publishers who understand this early are the ones who will build something that lasts.