What Counts as CTV? Why Defining the Channel Matters for Performance
CTV has become one of the fastest-growing categories in advertising. With spend surging and platforms multiplying, the term itself is starting to stretch in ways that raise real concerns. What began as ads placed alongside professionally produced, long-form television content is now being used to describe paused-screen ads, in-app placements on gaming consoles, and even inventory surfaced through less-than-transparent resellers.
For buyers, this definitional creep risks diluting the value of CTV, confusing clients, and funneling spend toward inventory that consumers do not actually perceive as “television adverts.” Left unchecked, this ambiguity could erode trust in one of the most promising channels in performance marketing.
The Importance of Definitions
CTV’s strength has always been its ability to merge the premium storytelling environment of TV with the targeting precision and measurability of digital. When a viewer sits down to stream a show on Hulu, Disney+, or Peacock, they expect an experience that includes commercial breaks. Ads delivered in this context carry weight precisely because they are consistent with decades of learned behaviour around television viewing.
When “CTV” starts encompassing everything that happens to play on a TV screen, that consumer expectation breaks down. A static pause-screen ad, while valuable, is not the same as a spot in the first ad pod of a prime-time drama. Nor is a banner ad in a casual game streamed through a smart TV. Conflating these with true CTV adverts undermines the premium association that makes the channel so powerful.
This confusion also distorts performance benchmarks. Buyers who believe they’re getting premium CTV at cut-rate CPMs are often unknowingly purchasing less effective inventory. Lower costs can look attractive, but as with linear TV, cheap impressions rarely translate into meaningful outcomes. The quality of audience and context matter far more than the raw price .
The industry has been here before. In the early days of display, a lack of clear standards created a market where impressions were abundant but often of questionable value. Only after years of pressure for transparency, third-party verification, and more precise definitions did display evolve into a channel where marketers could invest with greater confidence.
CTV risks repeating those same mistakes. Without sharper boundaries around what qualifies as true CTV, the market will continue to see inventory mismatches, measurement inconsistencies, and frustration from brands who thought they were buying one thing but received another.
The Path Forward
The solution is not complicated: CTV should mean ads that run where viewers expect TV adverts. That means full-episode, professionally produced, long-form content streamed through connected devices. It excludes user-generated clips, background ads, and placements that may technically run “on the big screen” but don’t align with consumer perception of television.
This definition does not exclude innovation. Free ad-supported TV (FAST) platforms like Pluto or Tubi, for instance, fit squarely within the CTV definition. They deliver long-form programming in environments where consumers anticipate commercial breaks, even if the content mix looks different from traditional broadcast. In fact, FAST services are driving important growth in viewership and inventory, especially among cost-sensitive audiences.
But if everything from a Twitch stream to a console game ad is labeled “CTV,” the category loses meaning. Advertisers deserve the ability to distinguish between premium placements and ancillary impressions. Consumers, too, benefit from advertising that respects context and enhances rather than interrupts their experience.
In a crowded marketplace, precision in definition becomes a competitive advantage. Brands and agencies that insist on transparency and clarity will make smarter buying decisions and drive better outcomes. Vendors that offer straightforward communication about what’s in the mix - what tier of content, what context, what audience - will earn more trust and long-term investment.
CTV’s future is bright, but only if the industry preserves the very qualities that made it valuable in the first place: premium environments, engaged audiences, and measurable performance. That requires alignment on what the channel actually is. And, just as importantly, what it is not.
If “CTV” comes to mean everything, it will eventually mean nothing. By holding the line on definition now, the industry can ensure that connected TV remains a channel where performance, trust, and outcomes are not just possible, but proven.
[Editor's note: This is a contributed article from Keynes. Streaming Media accepts vendor bylines based solely on their value to our readers.]
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