CTV advertising: a practical guide for advertisers

Connected TV (CTV) advertising means buying ads inside streaming apps playing on TV screens — from broadcaster apps to Netflix and Disney+ ad tiers. It's the fastest-moving budget line in programmatic because it solves an old dilemma: TV's screen and attention, with digital's targeting and measurement.

Why CTV earns budget

• Audiences left linear TV; attention didn't. The living-room screen still delivers full-attention, big-format exposure — now addressable per household.
• Digital-grade control: audience targeting, frequency capping and measurement that linear TV never offered.
• Brand + performance: video completion rates on CTV are consistently high, and attribution to site visits is now standard practice.

How CTV is bought

Through a DSP like DV360, CTV is a line item like any other — same audiences, same reporting. The catch is supply: premium CTV inventory is scarcer than display, and much of the best supply moves through PMPs and Programmatic Guaranteed rather than the open auction. Two campaigns with identical budgets can get very different quality depending on the deals behind them. That's why supply relationships — like the ones SeatNMD develops with SSPs and premium publishers, including Netflix and Disney inventory — matter more in CTV than anywhere else.

What it costs

CTV CPMs run well above display — premium screens, scarce supply, full attention. Evaluate it accordingly: as reach and impact media measured with brand and mid-funnel metrics, complementing your performance channels rather than competing with their CPAs.

The mistakes that sink CTV campaigns

1. Buying it isolated — running CTV apart from display/video wastes its role as the reach anchor of a cross-channel plan.
2. Ignoring frequency — scarce supply concentrates impressions; without a cross-exchange cap, the same household gets hammered.
3. Open-auction-only buying — you'll get remnant inventory while competitors lock the good screens via deals.
4. TV-spot creative recycled without adaptation — streaming context allows tighter cuts and sequential storytelling.

Getting started

The practical route: define the audience with the same segmentation stack you use elsewhere, start with curated deals rather than open exchange, cap frequency across channels, and measure incrementally against your existing media. Operating through a DV360 seat means CTV is a campaign away — not a new platform contract away.