Is it too soon to start thinking about New Year's resolutions? Since taking on AdExchanger's CTV beat at the beginning of March, I've learned a lot about the industry from the perspectives of publishers, measurement companies, platforms and even a few brands. So next year, to round out my education, I'm setting a goal for myself to start talking to more media planners, agency executives and buy-side experts.
What we've been hearing from the buy side is clear: performance is the goal, and without transparency, improving performance is near impossible. Transparency can sometimes get thought of as niche vanity metrics, but it's important to remember that transparency comes in many flavours, and without it, improving performance is near impossible. Not being able to see what influences performance is like driving a manual car while having a hand tied behind your back and wearing an eye patch
"We're often painted as the foil to The Trade Desk," Barrett said. "But I would say 99% of the stuff that Jeff [Green, TTD's CEO] does is brilliant, and we are so supportive of cleaning up the system." Of course, the fact that Magnite had quite a good third quarter helps smooth over any possible tensions that could have arisen.
We expect that fewer consumers will be landing on the web pages where most of that display inventory has historically existed, and so there will just be fewer monetizable audiences there to begin with,
Usually an increase in ad impressions corresponds with a decrease in ad prices, as has been the case on YouTube, according to Tinuiti's Q3 2025 Digital Ads Benchmark Report. Streaming ad prices are dropping but still relatively pricey for the premium ad-supported streamers, per Tinuiti. Meanwhile free, ad-supported streaming TV services - among streaming's cheapest inventory sources - are filling less of their available ad inventory, exemplifying the supply-demand imbalance, according to Wurl's CTV Trends Report 2025.
If you still think retail media begins and ends with sponsored search, Walmart would like a word. On stage at ANA Masters of Marketing 2025, Walmart Connect's Ryan Mayward lined up Omnicom Media Group's Megan Pagliuca and Vizio's Adam Townsend to make the case that commerce media has gone properly full-funnel - stretching from the Walmart app and store screens to CTV, the open web and even influencer programs.
Tubi is working with IRIS.TV, a contextual targeting company acquired by Viant last November, to tag much of its on-demand content for emotional or thematic content, using categories like "joyful" or "travel." The idea is that advertisers will be able to invest, at a more granular level, against inventory that is suitable for their brands and avoid TV that isn't.
CleanTap jury-rigged a Raspberry Pi computer and equipped it with a dummy HDMI connection to make it seem as if the device had a display surface like any smart TV. Over the course of 10 days in July, CleanTap sent thousands of bid requests from two distinct IP addresses associated with the device. The result? CleanTap claims that 100% of the invalid traffic it spoofed was accepted into live auctions run by programmatic platforms and was successfully bid on by advertisers.
Listen to the article 6 min this year It's based on connected TV, or CTV, referring to ads that are delivered through internet-connected televisions and streaming services. CTV tools allow the company to hone its messaging to a particular audience: those in certain regions, ZIP codes, or even to individual viewers, Skipper said. The company's goal was to use that knowledge to engage with and boost Sonoco's name recognition among key niche audiences, such as private label customers.
Magnite bought ai to make CTV advertising more accessible to small businesses and smaller budgets. DeepIntent received $637 million from a private equity acquirer that believes healthcare advertising - even as it faces governmental pressure - is ripe for growth. AI-powered virtual product placement startups Rembrand, which was founded by ad tech OG Omar Tawakol, is merging with another startup, Spaceback, which uses AI to convert social media content and videos into CTV ad creative.
Addressing the market's growing demand for unified programmatic solutions, Novicue has launched a future-focused supply-side platform (SSP) that combines CTV and audio advertising capabilities with premium inventory access. Novicue's SSP is a one-stop solution for brands, independent agencies, and publishers looking to harness the potential of CTV and audio advertising. Brands and agencies can partner with the SSP to access a wide pool of brand-safe, verified publishers and target their ads to the right audiences at the right time.
"In a increasingly divided world, there are a few things that can bring people together, and sports is one of them," Gorman says in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. "Brands want to surround themselves with those moments that people are finding joy in."
On Tuesday, the advertising platform announced the introduction of pause ads into its SSP. This inventory can be bought through the company's direct-to-buyer product, ClearLine, as well as a number of third-party DSPs like MNTN, Kerv.ai and Yahoo DSP. Magnite's pause ads will be available on a programmatic basis across several streaming partners, including DirecTV, Dish Media and Fubo.
The roll-out of advanced S2S integration capabilities is a pivotal step in the ongoing evolution of AdPlayer.Pro's video ad tech, aimed at helping our partners to optimise the overall operational workflow and help them achieve higher fill rates, hence better financial results.