CTV Advertising: Everything You Need To Know About The Fastest-Growing Screen

CTV advertising is changing the way we think about television. It literally connects the ability of traditional television to tell powerful stories and reach mass audiences, with digital advertising’s precision, interactivity, and performance tracking.

What Is CTV Advertising?

Connected TV (CTV) advertising is the delivery of video ads to an audience consuming content on a television screen connected to the Internet, whether that’s a smart TV, a gaming console like PlayStation, or a streaming device like ROKU, Amazon Fire Stick, or Apple TV. These are not just alternatives to cutting the cord, these digital devices are reshaping how brands engage with audiences across screens.

CTV advertising combines the visual aesthetics and immersion of traditional television with the targeting and measurement of digital marketing and that means, for app marketers and performance teams, they are no longer simply sending ads into a black hole and hoping they land somewhere beneficial. Instead, they’re reaching not only households, but also niche user cohorts at just the right moment when they’re binge-watching their latest show or streaming live sports on their large screen.

As of 2024, over 87% of U.S. households own at least one connected TV device. It’s clear that connected TVs are expanding fast on the homefront, especially in mobile-first economies like India, Brazil, and Southeast Asia, where smart TV adoption is spreading like wildfire. According to projections from eMarketer, global CTV ad spend will reach over $45 billion by 2026. This incredible increase that reflects how important this channel is for performance-based marketers.

What you can do using Connected TV (CTV) advertising is vastly different from linear TV advertising. Rather than having everyone experience the same “linear” ad at the same time, CTV allows advertisers to deliver more personalized, audience-based video ads based on data to a specific audience segment, and via any device, location, or behavior you want to reach.

CTV vs OTT vs Linear TV: Know the Difference

Before we get carried away discussing CTV advertising, we must emphasize one foundational thing first. CTV, OTT, and Linear TV are not the same, and if you’re an app marketer and are now on your CTV advertising journey, you better have the distinction figured out. It’s the basic first step. 

Connected TV (CTV) refers to the actual hardware that connects to the internet and allows users to consume content on a TV screen. This can be a smart TV with built-in apps like Netflix or Hotstar, or a streaming device like an Amazon Fire Stick, Apple TV or Roku. Gaming consoles like PlayStation and Xbox are also among CTVs. In a nutshell, CTV is the big screen in your living room that is now online and addressable.

OTT (Over-The-Top) refers to the delivery of video content. It is the programming that is delivered over the internet as opposed to from your traditional cable or satellite provider. Whether someone is watching a movie on Disney+, watching a live match on JioCinema or jumping into a true-crime docuseries on MX Player, they are consuming OTT content.

And, the fun fact is that OTT can be streamed on any internet-connected device, like your smart TV (yes, CTV), but also your phone, laptop or tablet. So, while all CTV content is OTT, not all OTT is consumed on CTV. 

OTT bypasses traditional cable or satellite providers, known as Linear TV. It is the traditional model that we grew up with, the linear broadcast schedule via cable, satellite, or even an antenna. Here, you don’t have the choice of what to watch. You tune in at their scheduled time. It is still around in some rural regions as well as among older viewers, although it is falling off very quickly in more urban, mobile-first, and Gen Z-dominated markets. And there is little opportunity for precision targeting or real-time assessment of performance, unlike OTT and CTV services. 

It is important for advertisers, especially if they are advertising an app, to understand the nuances of each. It influences everything from how you configure for attribution and creatives, to the kinds of expected outcomes you can see. A mobile install campaign running on an ad-supported OTT app on a mobile device will not be the same as a programmatic CTV ad running on a smart TV in a family living room. They are different ad formats, Different targeting options, and most importantly, they will measure success entirely differently.

From a media-buying perspective, this will make a difference. While OTT ad inventory can run on mobile or desktop, CTV ads run only on a TV screen. This has a significant benefit for CTV advertising, as it has 100% undivided attention in the room that is often cluttered with distractions, but with the smartness of the digital targeting built in.

And it’s not only attention that’s the measure — it is the amount of time spent engaging with CTV as compared to linear TV. Consumers are spending more time with CTV, and through more viewable content, on more platforms, than ever before. Marketers can now meet them with personalized messages in the same space that linear TV used to fill with generic 30-second spots.

The Streaming Surge of CTV Advertising

What was once a branding playground for traditional advertisers has now become a high-performance channel that is redefining what growth means for apps. The 2025 boom of CTV advertising is not merely a flash-in-the-pan. It is caused by a perfect storm of changing viewing habits, advancements in advertising technology, and an appetite for measurable, privacy-safe advertising.

Viewers Are Cutting the Cord

The “cord-cutting” trend has been front page news for a decade and counting. However in 2025, it feels more like a mainstream behavior. In the United States, fewer than half of households subscribe to cable or satellite TV. In India, nearly 40% of urban households exclusively use a smart TV or streaming device and no longer use (or no longer have) a set-top box. This is not a budget decision, it is based on convenience and control. Wherever the eyeballs go, the ad dollars will follow.

CTV Delivers What Marketers Actually Want: Targeting, Reach, and Performance

The tradeoff between reach (TV) and targeting (digital) is dead. CTV advertising gives the best of both worlds. CTV advertising offers the high-impact, immersive experience of TV plus the targeting power of programmatic advertising. 

Different creatives can be served to different households according to their specific demographics, geographic data, time of day, device type, and behavioral segments. And you can measure it all.

CTV campaigns today do not end with impressions or completed views. With deterministic attribution models, device graphs, and SDK-level integrations (with supported platforms), marketers can trace everything from installs to in-app purchases. Whether you’re promoting a mobile game, a fintech app, or a direct-to-consumer (DTC) commerce platform, CTV is not just top-of-funnel fluff, it is full-funnel fuel.

Advertisers Need Privacy-Safe, Identity-Lite Channels 

With the demise of third-party cookies and the tightening hold of ATT (App Tracking Transparency) on iOS, advertisers have had to bring new thinking to their user acquisition strategies. Many ad channels on web and mobile have lost precision, reach, or both.

CTV circumvents most of those hurdles. Because it’s house-based and less reliant on individual device ids CTV advertising gives us a more privacy-resistant and privacy-robust framework of attributes. 

Many of the platforms are now reliant on probabilistic or contextual performance matches to link CTV exposure to mobile installs or post-install events. 

CTV measurement is still evolving (we’ll get to that later), but it does mean it’s future-proofed in a way mobile and web aren’t at the moment.

CTV Inventory Is Growing, And So Is Programmatic Access 

There is a misconception that CTV ad inventory is limited to premium, walled garden publishers, such as YouTube and Hulu. That’s simply not true. As of 2025, more than 70% of CTV ad inventory will be available within programmatic exchanges (including on platforms like The Roku Channel, Samsung TV+, Voot, Zee5 and more). 

This opens the door for app marketers who want scale without being locked into managed service buys or expensive up-front commitments. With smarter DSPs and SSPs supporting CTV-specific formats, creatives, and even attribution hooks, the barrier to entry has never been lower.

How CTV Advertising Works: Campaign Setup, Creatives, and Measurement

CTV advertising is transforming how marketers who want to connect with audiences on the largest screen in their homes. While launching a CTV campaign might seem like a black box, particularly for those coming from mobile or web, the steps are less daunting than you think – especially if you’ve been running UA/Programmatic campaigns.

But how does CTV advertising work behind the scenes? Let’s take a closer look at how CTV advertising works, one by one:

1. The Viewer Connects Through a Streaming Device or Smart TV

It all begins with the viewer. When someone views content via a smart TV (e.g., Samsung or LG), via a streaming stick (e.g., Roku, Fire TV, or Apple TV), via a gaming console (e.g., PlayStation or Xbox), or via an OTT app (e.g., Hulu, Peacock, or YouTube TV), they are viewing content using a connected environment. These platforms are referred as Connected TV ecosystems.

The common denominator? These devices all access content over the internet, and not cable or satellite. That connection is the key to what makes CTV advertising so powerful. When viewers stream a show or live sporting event on their CTV device, they are consuming content in a data rich environment.

That means the device can generate signals such as IP address, location, type of content, time of day, and sometimes even household demographics—all without personally identifying the user. These signals can power targeting and attribution.

2. Advertisers Define Their Audience

Rather than targeing programming time slots for specific shows like traditional TV advertising, CTV advertising lets you target audiences. You can define audience segments based on:

• Demographics (age, gender, household income)
• Location (geo-fencing, city-level targeting)
• Viewing habits (sports lovers, binge-watchers, reality TV fans)
• Interest and behavior (fitness enthusiasts, parents, gamers)
• Device usage (smart TVs vs. streaming sticks)
• First-party or CRM data (custom audiences from your app or site)
• Cross-device behavior (visited your mobile site, now watching TV)

To illustrate, if you want to promote a mental wellness app, you could run CTV ads targeted at 18–35 year-old viewers who have recently searched for meditation content, use health apps, and stream late at night (Roku, Apple TV, Firestick).

This level of targeting is possible through demand-side platforms (DSPs), which allow you to create segments using first-party and third-party data. In many cases, you can even retarget users who have engaged your mobile or web assets. Look for DSPs that have integrations with mobile measurement partners, like Apptrove, so you can have attribution and more thorough performance information.

3. Real-Time Bidding and Programmatic Buying

Once you have created your audience, the next stage is media buying or programmatic buying through real-time bidding (RTB). This is how it works: 

• You upload your 15–30 second video ads (creative).
• You define your parameters, including budget, bid price, frequency cap, location, devices, and campaign length.
• You launch the campaign on the DSP, which connects to supply-side platforms (SSPs), where publishers list their ad inventory.

Now your ad is competing in an auction to reach your selected viewer, at the selected time. If your bid wins, your ad is served in milliseconds, before, during, or after the viewer’s content.

This process occurs dynamically, every time a viewer’s stream is presented with a monetizable ad slot. CTV advertising does not follow the traditional model of upfront airing, and is nimble, flexible, and efficient; you pay only when the right viewer has been identified.

4. Ads Are Inserted into the Viewing Experience Smoothly

Advertisements on CTV are both strategic, and seemingly seamless. Your ad is inserted into the stream as part of the viewer’s content, at high-quality resolution (often HD or 4K), and typically takes over the totality of the screen. Some common CTV ad formats include:

• Pre-roll ads: Shown before the content starts

• Mid-roll ads: Inserted during natural breaks in the content

• Post-roll ads: Played at the end of the program

• Pause ads: Displayed when the user pauses a show or movie

• Overlay ads: Interactive prompt or QR code overlaid on content

• Interactive ads: Equipped with CTAs, QR codes, or shoppable experiences 

One very important feature is that CTV ads are not skippable, resulting in improved completion rates. Statistically, the average video completion rate (VCR) for CTV advertising can be greater than 95%, a figure that is unprecedented in comparison to mobile or desktop video ads. 

This also means that you can deliver cohesive storytelling campaigns across devices, showing the same viewer a CTV ad, followed by a retargeting ad on mobile or desktop.

5. Measurement and Cross-Device Attribution

CTV advertising is not simply about reach, it’s also about performance. Modern CTV campaigns can measure a campaign for brand lift or direct conversions. Cross-device graphs and probabilistic modeling allows advertisers to join an impression on CTV with downstream actions, including website visits, app installs, signing up for a free trial and completing a purchase.

Here’s how it’s done:

A viewer sees your ad on their Smart TV. Once the viewer’s IP address is identified, it can be matched with a household device on the same Wi-Fi network. If the viewer takes action (visits), on their phone, tablet, or laptop in a given time window (let’s say 7 days), this is counted as a conversion. When it comes to CTV, attribution typically uses household level data with timestamped exposures, so it is privacy safe and cookieless tracking.

Mobile measurement partners like Apptrove can help mobile marketers understand the customer journey from the CTV ad to app install to in-app purchases, and provide actionable insights on Return on Ad Spend (ROAS), Cost Per Install (CPI), Customer Lifetime Value (LTV), retention and engagement metrics, and more. This is where CTV moves from an upper-funnel brand play to a full-funnel performance channel.

6. Optimization and Iteration in Real Time

One of the most powerful aspects of CTV advertising is that it doesn’t stop once the ad is live. You can track, analyze and optimize it in real time, just like you do on Facebook or Google. You can You can:

• A/B test creative variations
• Reallocate budget to better performing audiences or inventory sources
• Change your frequency caps to avoid over-saturation
• Ineffectively, swap your underperforming assets instantaneously
• Test different time slots or device types

This functionality allows you to improve your campaign results, rather than just reporting on them at the end of the quarter.

CTV advertising bridges the best of two worlds: the emotional, immersive power of television and the precision and accuracy of digital marketing. For app-first brands and performance marketers, it is not just an awareness play anymore, it is a measurable and optimized full-funnel growth engine.

With, hyper-targeted media buying opportunities, interactive formats, cross-device attribution and real-time reporting, CTV, is reinventing what modern advertising looks like on the big screen.

Types of CTV Advertising (and Where They Appear)

As the living room screen evolve, so do the ways we advertise on it. CTV advertising opens up many ad formats that are dynamic, data-driven, and placed purposefully to meet audiences where they are, often literally mid-binge.

For advertisers looking to take full advantage of this high-impact channel, it is important to understand the types of CTV ads and how they work in the viewing experience.

Pre-Roll Ads

Pre-roll ads are short video ads that appear before the audience’s selected content. Pre-roll ads are typically both non-skippable and short, playing anywhere from 15 to 30 seconds. These advertisements benefit from the opportunity for attendees’ undivided attention. The audience just hit “play,” and therefore are engaged and consuming. 

With no immediate option to skip or exit, this is a prime moment to deliver brand messaging, especially when paired with personalization and relevant targeting. Commonly found on streaming platforms like Hulu, Peacock, and YouTube TV, pre-rolls are often used in ad-supported video on demand (AVOD) and freemium OTT services.

Mid-Roll Ads

Mid-roll ads are inserted in the middle of long-form video content. These can be considered traditional commercial breaks, just with smarter targeting. Audiences are already invested in the content, which means that they are much less prone to drop off while watching. Mid-roll ads usually have higher-completion rates, perfect to implement brand storytelling, or in long creative formats. 

Mid-roll ads typically run during episodes, movies, and live-streaming on platforms such as Tubi, Roku Channel, and Pluto TV. Mid-rolls are processed more often if the content is over 20 minutes long.

Post-Roll Ads

Post-roll ads are delivered once the content has ended. They are most often shorter ads and aim to conclude the viewing session. Post-rolls can be beneficial for retargeting, coupon codes, and call-to-action types of messaging like app installs, website visits, product trials, and more. However, they do not always guarantee viewership as certain segments of users will drop off after watching content.

Post-rolls are less common than pre-roll and mid-roll, usually used purposefully on narrowcasting streaming apps, or brand-owned CTV channels.

Pause Ads

Pause ads are static or lightly animated creatives that run when the viewer pauses the video. They are non-intrusive, high-visibility ad formats, and the trigger is grounded in their user behavior of pausing. Pause ads do not interrupt content and provide advertisers with great and valuable screen space.

Consider them as the contemporary equivalent of billboards, appearing precisely when the viewer may avert their eyes and catch a glimpse of your brand. These advertisemnets are becoming more mainstream on Hulu and plugs into the smart TV interface and native CTV OS and on platforms like Roku and Fire TV.

Overlay ads

Overlay ads are semi-transparent units that appear on top of video content that are either based at the bottom of the screen or as a clickable cards off to the side. They give brands the ability for users to view messaging without disrupting their viewing experience. These ads are ideal for reminder ads, flash promotions, or to retarget visitors with a soft CTA like “Click here to learn more”.

You will see overlays in interactive platforms like Roku or YouTube TV, especially in sporting events and live events where pausing the stream isn’t an option.

Home Screen and Menu Ads

These are banner or tile ads that appear on the home screen of smart TVs or streaming devices. They capture users prior to content selection, making them perfect for app growth, launching a premium show, or targeting users across devices. Think of it as a digital billboard that greets the viewer every time they power on their TV.  

There are platform providers such as Roku, Amazon Fire TV, and Samsung Smart TVs that deliver ads on the home screen, which is perfect for brand awareness campaigns. This is home screen real estate as big as it gets.

Interactive CTV ads

Interactive CTV ads prompt users to take some action upon seeing the ad such as: scan a QR code, click using the remote, answer a question, or play a mini-game. They deliver measurable engagement and create a two-way brand experience. Interactive ads are highly engaging and work well for eCommerce, app downloads, or market research. 

Interactive ads are on more sophisticated platforms like Roku, Vizio, Fire TV, etc., and often show up in entertainment apps, sports streaming, and premium OTT networks.

Shoppable TV Ads

Shoppable TV ads are a sub-type of interactive ad because they allow the user to buy directly from the ad by either scanning a QR code or clicking on an option available on their screen. 

Shoppable ads create a seamless journey from discovery to purchase and allow audiences to merge commerce and entertainment. These are best suited for retail brands, D2C campaigns, or flash sales. You’ll find them on platforms integrating CTV with mobile like Hulu, Amazon Fire TV, or Samsung Ads. 

What’s thrilling about CTV advertising isn’t just the content but also the context. CTV allows you to customize where and how your ad appears. This can either be pre-roll, that sets the tone, an overlay that whispers while the action is happening, or a pause ad to capture their attention mid-snack break; all have unique and distinct strategic purposes. 

If you’re planning your next CTV campaign, don’t just consider what you’re saying, consider where you’re saying it!

CTV Advertising Measurement and Attribution: What Marketers Need to Know (and What They’re Getting Wrong)

For CTV advertising, measurement is the mechanism for learning, optimizing, and scaling. However, CTV measurement presents a bit of a challenge as it exists at the paradoxical intersection of TV-style ‘awareness’ with digital ‘precision.’ Attribution isn’t impossible, but it can be difficult.

Impact, in terms of app installs, subscriptions, or in-app revenue, is one thing you should care about more than anything else. You can’t afford to hope you’re spending wisely, so let’s walk you through how CTV ad measurement and attribution works, where it breaks down, and what you can do about it.

First things first, CTV is not a mobile phone. It is a shared screen, passive,and has little to no direct clicks. All of this fundamentally alters the measuring equation.

So, here’s why traditional attribution often fails on CTV:

• It’s a household device, not a personal one
  Unlike smartphones, a smart TV is in a shared family space. So even if you match the IP address, you might not know which individual saw your ad.

• The conversion doesn’t happen on the TV

Unlike mobile ads, most CTV ads are not clickable. People might see a video ad on Roku or Fire TV, then proceed to download your app or make a purchase on their mobile phone. 

from Apptrove https://apptrove.com/ctv-advertising/
via Apptrove