CTV advertising explained: how connected TV ads are bought
CTV ads run on smart TVs and streaming devices. How the buy flows from app to DSP, what it costs, how it is measured, and why sportsbooks use it.
CTV advertising is video advertising on connected TV (CTV): smart TVs, plus the streaming sticks, boxes and game consoles plugged into a TV set. The ads run inside ad-supported streaming apps, are mostly bought programmatically, and can be targeted by household like digital ads while still playing full-screen in the living room.
What is CTV advertising?
The IAB defines a connected TV as a television set that reaches the internet through a streaming box or stick, a Blu-ray player or a game console, or has internet built in, as a smart TV does. CTV advertising is any ad served to that screen over the internet rather than through a cable or broadcast signal.
The inventory comes from ad-supported streaming:
AVOD apps (ad-supported video on demand): viewers pick a show, ads play in breaks.
FAST channels (free ad-supported streaming TV): scheduled channels delivered over the internet.
Ad tiers of subscription services.
Live streams of sports, news and events.
In most cases the ad behaves like a TV commercial: full-screen, with sound, in a break. What changes is how it is sold, targeted and reported.
CTV vs OTT
OTT (over-the-top) describes how video is delivered: over the internet, without a cable or satellite provider. CTV describes where it is watched: on a TV-screen device. IAB Tech Lab draws the line the same way and leaves phones and computers out of CTV. A show streamed to a phone is OTT but not CTV; the same show on a smart TV is both. Sales decks blur the two, so check which devices an "OTT/CTV" package actually includes.
How a CTV ad gets bought
Most CTV ads are bought programmatically, passing from the publisher's SSP to a DSP in a fraction of a second:
The viewer reaches an ad break. The app has slots to fill, often several ads in a row, which the IAB calls an ad pod.
The seller's side packages the slot. The publisher's ad server or a supply-side platform (SSP) offers the impression with data on the app, device, content and approximate location.
Buyers respond. A demand-side platform (DSP) bids if the impression fits a campaign, or fills it under a deal agreed in advance. Our DSP vs SSP explainer covers both sides.
The winning ad plays, and impressions and completions are reported back.
Programmatic CTV advertising runs on four deal types:
Open auction: any approved buyer bids. Cheapest, least control over which apps carry the ad.
Private marketplace (PMP): an invitation-only auction with a price floor.
Programmatic guaranteed: fixed price and volume, executed through the DSP.
Direct deals: an insertion order with the publisher, as in traditional TV.
In April 2025 the IAB expected nearly half of CTV inventory to be biddable. The other half is sold outside auctions, through reserved and direct deals.
The other route is the walled garden. Device makers and platform owners such as Roku, Amazon, Samsung and LG sell their own inventory and audience data through their own ad platforms; Amazon, for example, sells its streaming TV ads programmatically through its own tools. Their data is often usable only when you buy through them.
So "CTV advertising platforms" means several kinds of tool: independent DSPs, the device makers' and streamers' own platforms, publisher sales teams, and self-serve tools for small budgets. A CTV advertising agency earns its fee when you need direct publisher deals, TV-grade creative or a measurement study.
Formats and targeting
CTV ads are mostly full-screen video, sometimes interactive, and targeted by household like digital media. The IAB Tech Lab splits them into two families:
Linear ads interrupt the content like a commercial: pre-roll, mid-roll or post-roll. Many streaming services do not let viewers skip them.
Nonlinear ads sit on top of the content, from overlays to split-screen units where the ad and the show play side by side.
Interactive layers ride on either: the IAB lists QR codes that make an ad shoppable, a remote "click" to choose which ad to watch, and an "explore more" option. With Roku's Action Ads, a viewer presses OK on the remote and gets a text with the advertiser's link. Some services and device makers also sell pause-screen ads and home-screen placements.
CTV advertising examples: a 15-second spot in a FAST channel's break with a QR code that opens a landing page on the phone, an ad that fills the screen when the viewer pauses a show, or a split-screen unit that keeps a live game visible next to the ad.
Targeting borrows from digital. Platforms tie the TV to a household through its IP address and device identifiers, then layer on the advertiser's customer lists, the platform's viewing or shopping data, automatic content recognition (ACR) data that some smart TVs collect subject to the owner's privacy settings, and geography down to state or ZIP code. For the advertiser, that is the draw: a full-screen, sound-on ad that can be targeted and reported on like digital media.
The trade-off is the missing click. The IAB Tech Lab calls the lack of viewer interaction one of the biggest issues on CTV: any "click" happens on a remote, and publishers often limit it. Advertisers replace the click with QR codes, text-to-phone prompts, a nudge to search on the phone, and measurement that matches exposure to later actions.
What CTV costs and how it is measured
CTV is sold mostly on cost per thousand impressions (CPM), and some sellers also price per completed view. There is no public rate card for the market. Prices come out of auctions or deal-by-deal talks. CTV usually costs more per thousand than display or standard online video, and premium shows, live sports and direct deals cost more than long-tail apps, so get current rates from sellers before you budget a test.
Advertising on CTV no longer needs a TV-sized budget. Self-serve DSPs and platform ad managers take small campaigns: Roku's Ads Manager, for example, requires a lifetime budget of at least $500 per campaign and bills only for delivered spend. Direct deals and premium live events need larger commitments.
The scorecard differs from search or social:
Completion rate: usually high, because many services do not allow skipping.
Reach and frequency: how many households saw the ad and how often. Buying across many apps without a cap can hit the same home again and again.
Brand lift and incrementality: surveys or test-and-control studies that compare exposed households with similar unexposed ones.
Household attribution: exposure matched, mostly by IP address and device graphs, to later site visits, app installs or sign-ups on other devices in the same home.
That attribution is modelled, not click-exact. Shared and changing IP addresses, VPNs and several viewers per set blur the match, so read CTV-attributed conversions as estimates.
Why sportsbooks use CTV
Sportsbooks use CTV to place ads next to live games as sports coverage moves to streaming, and to reach only households in states where they are licensed. Public, sportsbook-level CTV spend data is thin; most published tallies of betting ad spend track linear TV.
Live sports are moving to streaming. The IAB's 2025 report notes that as live content shifts to streaming, buyers expect more from it. A sportsbook wants its ad next to the game, wherever the game is.
State-level targeting. US sports betting is licensed state by state. Broadcast markets often cross state lines, while CTV can limit delivery to households in states where the operator holds a license.
Household data. Platforms commonly let operators match customer lists to households, exclude current players to focus on new accounts, or build lookalike audiences.
Big screen, small-screen conversion. The TV builds name recognition during the game; the sign-up happens on a phone, through a QR code or an app-store search.
Rules and risks for gambling ads on CTV
Gambling ads face more checks on CTV than most categories. The policies below were checked in October 2026, and sellers can change them without notice.
State licensing. An operator can advertise real-money betting only where it is licensed, and status differs by state and product. See our state-by-state guide to US online gambling.
Platform policies. Each seller runs its own review of gambling advertisers. Roku's self-serve Ads Manager verifies them against license documents and does not accept licenses from outside the US. Campaigns must be geo-targeted to the states where the advertiser is licensed, ZIP-code targeting is not allowed, the audience must be 21 or older, and the ad itself must state the 21+ requirement. Roku also keeps online gambling out of its interactive Action Ads and bans creative that calls gambling low-risk or risk-free; breaches can end in a permanent ban.
Industry code. The current edition of the American Gaming Association's Responsible Marketing Code for Sports Wagering, last updated in March 2023, says sports betting ads should run only where at least 73.6% of the audience is reasonably expected to be 21 or older, and it names streaming among the covered channels. It also rules out "risk free" wording, keeps betting ads off college campuses and college-owned media, and asks for a responsible gaming message with a helpline number where practical. It is a self-regulatory code, not law, though the AGA says it applies to members and non-members alike.
State advertising rules. Regulators add their own requirements, such as responsible gaming disclaimers and limits on targeting and promotional wording, and these vary by state; Roku's policy requires ads to comply with them.
This is general information from public policies and codes, not legal advice.
Is CTV for affiliates and media buyers?
For most affiliates, CTV is an operator channel. Licensing, state targeting, platform approval and TV-grade creative all sit with the brand.
Affiliates still feel it. An operator's CTV push around a big game can show up as more branded and app-store searches, so sites that rank for brand and promo queries may see traffic move with the campaign calendar.
A media buyer is more likely to touch CTV in less restricted verticals, or on behalf of an operator, through a self-serve DSP in Tier-1 GEOs. Without a click, expect to judge results on lift and modelled attribution rather than cost per acquisition.
FAQ
What does CTV stand for in advertising?
CTV stands for connected TV. The meaning of CTV in advertising is a television that reaches the internet on its own (a smart TV) or through a streaming stick, box or game console. CTV advertising delivers ads to that screen through streaming apps.
What is the difference between CTV and OTT?
OTT is the delivery method, video streamed over the internet. CTV is the TV-screen device. A stream on a phone is OTT but not CTV. OLV, or online video, usually means video ads on websites and apps on phones and computers.
How does CTV advertising work?
In CTV advertising, the publisher or its SSP offers an ad-break slot, a DSP bids or fills it under a deal, and the winning ad plays. Results come back as impressions, completions and modelled household attribution.
How much does it cost to advertise on CTV?
CTV has no public rate card and is priced mostly per thousand impressions, by auction or by deal, with premium and live inventory higher. Self-serve tools allow small tests (Roku's Ads Manager requires at least $500 per campaign); direct publisher deals need bigger budgets.
How do you advertise on CTV?
To advertise on CTV, use a self-serve DSP or platform ad manager for small tests, a full DSP with private or guaranteed deals for scale, or an agency for direct deals and creative.
Can you advertise sports betting on CTV?
Sports betting can be advertised on CTV, but only by licensed operators in states where they hold a license, and each platform approves gambling advertisers separately. Roku, for example, verifies licenses and requires state-level geo-targeting and a 21+ audience, and the AGA's industry code asks for audiences at least 73.6% aged 21 or older.
Sources
IAB Tech Lab, OTT vs. CTV
IAB Tech Lab, Ad Format Guidelines for Digital Video and CTV (2022)
Amazon Ads, What is connected TV?
Roku Self Serve Help Center, Gambling and gaming ads
Roku Self Serve Help Center, Campaign budget and schedule
Roku Advertising, How Action Ads work
American Gaming Association, Responsible Marketing Code for Sports Wagering
