Answering Your Biggest Questions About CTV in 2025

Connected TV (CTV) is no longer the industry's new kid on the block, having muscled its way into American living rooms over the last few years. By 2026, nearly 70% of the US population will be CTV users and average viewing time is expected to double compared to 2020 levels. 

Naturally, advertisers are flocking to where the eyeballs are, with 61% planning to up their CTV spending. But the industry's wide-eyed honeymoon phase with CTV is giving way to a more realistic relationship. Today, marketers appreciate CTV’s promise while growing increasingly aware of its challenges—including fragmentation, measurement inconsistencies, and steep costs. 

So before you commit to CTV advertising, let's address what you should know to make it work.  

 

Why is CTV so expensive? 

Connected TV CPMs (Cost Per Thousand Impressions) are significantly higher than what can be achieved in traditional TV, posing challenges for performance-driven campaigns. Some platforms even have CPMs reaching the $50–$80 range. That price point can make it tough to drive short-term ROI and stems from: 

1. Perception of limited supply. While there's substantial unsold inventory, the perception of scarcity and the allure of ‘premium’ inventory drives up prices.

2. The tech tax. Every middleman requires their cut. SSPs, DSPs, verification tools, and brand safety measures all add up. 
   

3. Content production costs. Premium streaming providers pass along their content development expenses in the form of higher ad rates.

4. Targeting fees. That hyper-specific audience segment you're after? It'll cost you extra to reach them. Often so much extra that it cancels out any efficiency gains. 

 
How do I navigate marketplace fragmentation? 

The CTV landscape resembles a digital Wild West. Viewers hop from one service to another, and inventory is sold via everything from direct publisher deals to DSPs like The Trade Desk.  

But there are almost too many options. It’s why 39% of CTV advertisers say transparency is an issue. 

This fragmentation means there is no universal measurement standard for CTV. And there is a risk of duplication, uncontrolled frequency, and complicated campaign execution. 

Unless you’re prepared to make some costly mistakes while testing each buying method, look for a partner who’s already done exactly that. There has been meaningful testing and research done on CTV in recent years. Marketers today should take advantage of that rather than starting from scratch. 
 

Is CTV really like digital? 

Despite the "digital-like" buzz, CTV is fundamentally different from standard digital advertising. Hyper-targeting often costs more than it's worth and can be wildly inaccurate. An audience profile might  describe me as a "19- to 85-year-old man and woman" who is a "billionaire extreme couponer" and a "child-free parent." Not exactly helpful information for marketers. 

CTV also lacks cookies, requiring alternative identity solutions and tools like Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) to understand which households see ads. And while digital attribution can seem straightforward, many agencies and publishers use single-model measurement strategies for CTV that don't tell the complete story. 
 

Why is CTV so hard to measure? 

Our survey of 300+ marketers found CTV ranks third among the hardest channels to measure—only traditional TV and print are worse. 

Why is this? Device graphs often overstate performance by mistakenly attributing household activity as ad-driven conversions. Premium CTV inventory is frequently bundled with lower-quality digital placements that inflate impression numbers without delivering value. And many agencies and publishers "grade their own homework" with flawed measurement strategies. In fact, 8–10% of streaming impressions may be delivered while the TV is turned off, and publishers have been found to overcount impressions by up to 15%. 

To address these challenges, marketers should complement IP-based tracking with incrementality studies, holdout testing, or matched market experiments. These approaches provide a clearer picture of whether campaigns are truly driving incremental growth. 

 
Should I use CTV to build brand or drive performance? 

One of the most persistent debates about CTV is whether it's better for brand building or performance marketing. The answer? It's both. 

For brand marketers, CTV extends television's storytelling power through rich, engaging narratives that build awareness and emotional connections in a premium viewing environment—something traditional digital formats can't match. 

On the performance side, CTV enables precise targeting and measurable outcomes with the right strategy. While CPMs are higher than traditional digital channels, increased engagement in this premium context often delivers stronger ROI when campaigns are properly optimized.  

Success comes from adapting both creative and targeting strategies to deliver on brand and performance goals simultaneously, ensuring every dollar works harder. 

 
How does CTV work alongside linear TV? 

CTV and linear TV are natural complements. While linear delivers massive reach and brand credibility through traditional broadcast and cable channels, CTV extends that reach to cord-cutters and younger viewers who primarily consume streaming content. This allows advertisers to maintain the storytelling power of television while gaining incremental audiences they'd miss with just one channel. 

But it’s worth noting that the differences between forms of TV aren’t as stark as you may think. 70% of households use both streaming and traditional TV. And consumers’ top definition for TV according to data from MRI-Simmons is simply ‘anything I can watch on my TV set.’  

Smart advertisers don't see this as an either/or decision. In fact, 73% agree that linear and CTV work better together. Just remember to manage frequency across both forms of TV. Nobody wants to see your ad 17 times during one binge-watching session. 

 
Can CTV deliver on its promise? 

Connected TV is winning in some areas. It provides incremental reach, connecting with audiences that traditional linear television can't. But it faces challenges due to misconceptions that it functions just like digital. 

Brands seeing the strongest returns are those that optimize specifically for streaming, control costs, and use sophisticated measurement models that go beyond last-click metrics. The key is embracing CTV for what it actually is, not what it's been hyped up to be. 

 

Want to learn more? Tune into The Marketing Architect Podcast where Chief Media Officer Catherine Walstad shares more about the reality of CTV advertising today.