What is CTV advertising?
CTV (connected TV) advertising is video advertising shown on internet-connected television screens, through smart TVs, streaming sticks, game consoles and set-top boxes, within streaming apps and services. It combines the big-screen, sound-on experience of TV with digital targeting and measurement, and it can be bought programmatically, making it one of the fastest-growing ad channels.
CTV inventory comes from streaming services' ad tiers, FAST, AVOD apps and TV-maker platforms. Ads are usually served in ad pods during Pre-roll and Mid-roll breaks, often stitched into the stream via SSAI. Targeting uses Household IDs, ACR viewing data and first-party data.
CTV's high prices attract fraud: CTV fraud schemes such as SSAI spoofing and app spoofing are a persistent problem, and DoubleVerify reported a 140% rise in CTV fraud schemes in Q1 2026 compared with a year earlier. Buyers protect themselves with app-ads.txt, direct paths and CTV-specific IVT measurement.