How to edit the release date after distribution

Modified on Wed, 22 Jul at 1:59 PM

When you distribute a release, two different dates come into play — and both are often referred to simply as the "release date." Understanding the difference is essential before you change either one. This article explains what each date means, how it behaves, and how to change your sale start date.

The two dates explained

1. The historical release date

The historical release date is the date you're asked to enter when you first create a release that has been previously distributed. You'll find this field on the release metadata page. It is not the release date field shown on the distribution options page (the page where you select the territories to distribute your release to).

If you leave this field blank, the system fills it in automatically once you distribute, based on the sale start date you pick:

If you choose a specific sale start date, the historical release date is set to match it.
If you choose ASAP, it's set to the current day's date.

In other words, the system updates the historical release date to reflect the date you intend your release to go live.

ImportantOnce it's set, the historical release date cannot be changed directly. There are only two ways to change it:

Redistribute the release with a new future start date. The historical release date will update to the new start date only if it has not yet passed.
If the historical release date has already passed, the only way to change it is by contacting our support team.

2. The future sale start date

"Sale start date" is the industry term for the date on which you want DSPs to make your release available to the public. You enter it on the distribution options page (the page where you select the territories to distribute your release to).

You can change the sale start date each time you redistribute the release — but only up until 2 days before the start date you previously set.

Warning Within 2 days of your previously set start date, it is not safe to simply set a new future start date. We highly recommend that you first deliver a takedown for the release, and once the takedown has gone through, redeliver the release with the new start date.

For example:

If you previously delivered a release with a start date of January 10 and today is January 6, it is still safe to simply redeliver an update with a start date of January 20 — no prior takedown needed.
But if today is January 8, we highly recommend you first send a takedown for the release before redistributing it with a new start date of January 20.

How to change the future sale start date

To change the sale start date, redistribute the release. You'll be prompted to enter a start date again on the distribution options page.

Note If the release is still in delivery, you may need to pause the delivery first: How to edit a Release that is still in delivery.

Follow these steps to change the start date:

Go to Catalog
Open the release you want to update.
In the left sidebar, expand Distribution and click Activity.
On the Activity page, click the purple Distribute All button in the top-right corner.
In the distribution section, continue to Step 5 of 5 — Distribution Details.
Under Release Start Date, for "When do you want to distribute your release?", select On a specific date
Choose your date in the Date field.
Click Distribute to confirm.