Connected TV
Television sets or devices connected to the internet that enable streaming content and addressable advertising, including smart TVs, streaming sticks, and gaming consoles, merging TV's reach with digital targeting precision.
Connected TV (CTV) represents the convergence of traditional television's premium viewing experience with digital advertising's targeting and measurement capabilities. Viewers watch content through streaming apps on smart TVs, Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, and gaming consoles, and advertisers can target specific households or audience segments rather than buying broad demographic-based TV spots.
For growth teams, CTV opens access to the TV screen for performance-oriented advertisers who could never afford or justify traditional TV buys. AI-powered targeting on CTV leverages household-level data, viewing behavior, and deterministic identity matches to deliver ads to specific audience segments. The measurement challenge is significant because CTV ads typically do not generate clicks, requiring view-through attribution and incrementality testing to measure impact. Growth engineers should build CTV into their media mix by starting with retargeting known customers on the big screen and expanding to prospecting as they develop CTV-specific attribution models. The rapid growth of ad-supported streaming tiers from major platforms is dramatically increasing CTV inventory availability and reducing CPMs, making it increasingly accessible for growth-stage companies.
Related Terms
Programmatic Advertising
The automated buying and selling of digital ad inventory using software platforms and algorithms, replacing manual negotiation with real-time, data-driven decision-making across display, video, and native channels.
Demand-Side Platform
A software platform that enables advertisers and agencies to purchase digital ad inventory across multiple ad exchanges through a single interface, using data and algorithms to optimize bidding and targeting decisions.
Supply-Side Platform
A technology platform used by publishers and app developers to manage, sell, and optimize their advertising inventory across multiple demand sources, maximizing revenue per impression through automated auction mechanics.
Ad Exchange
A digital marketplace that facilitates the buying and selling of advertising inventory between advertisers and publishers in real time, operating as a neutral auction platform connecting DSPs and SSPs.
Real-Time Bidding
An auction-based mechanism where individual ad impressions are bought and sold in real time as a user loads a page, with the entire bidding process completing in under 100 milliseconds per impression.
Header Bidding
A programmatic technique where publishers simultaneously offer ad inventory to multiple demand sources before calling their primary ad server, increasing competition and revenue by allowing all bidders to compete on equal footing.