The Connected TV Opportunity for Digital Publishers

The Connected TV Opportunity for Digital Publishers

Connected TV advertising is one of the fastest-growing segments in digital advertising, and it is no longer exclusive to traditional television networks and streaming platforms. Digital publishers, including those who have historically focused on web and mobile content, have real opportunities to participate in the CTV boom. Understanding how CTV fits into the broader publisher monetization landscape can unlock new revenue streams and strengthen your advertising business.

CTV refers to any television that connects to the internet and streams digital content, including smart TVs, streaming devices like Roku and Amazon Fire TV, and gaming consoles. CTV advertising combines the impact and attention of traditional television with the targeting precision and measurement capabilities of digital advertising. This combination is driving massive advertiser investment, with CTV ad spending growing by double digits year over year and showing no signs of slowing down.

For digital publishers, the question is not whether CTV matters, but how to participate in this growing market in ways that align with your existing content, audience, and capabilities. This guide explores the concrete paths available to publishers of different sizes and types.

Why CTV Matters for Digital Publishers

You might wonder what connected TV has to do with your blog, news site, or digital media property. The connection is stronger than you might think, and the opportunity extends well beyond simply creating video content for television screens.

Advertiser Budget Migration

As advertisers shift budgets from linear television to CTV, the total pool of digital advertising dollars grows. This rising tide benefits all digital publishers, not just those with CTV inventory. Advertisers running CTV campaigns need to reinforce their messaging across other digital channels, creating incremental demand for web and mobile display advertising. Publishers who can demonstrate audience overlap with CTV campaigns become more valuable to advertisers planning cross-screen strategies.

Cross-Platform Audience Value

Your digital audience likely consumes content across multiple devices and platforms, including connected TVs. Advertisers increasingly plan campaigns across screens, and publishers who can offer audience reach on the big screen alongside web and mobile touch points command premium prices. Understanding your audience's CTV consumption habits strengthens your value proposition to advertisers even if you do not directly sell CTV inventory. Surveys and analytics data about your audience's streaming habits can inform compelling sales pitches.

Content Distribution Revenue

CTV platforms are hungry for content. The proliferation of free ad-supported streaming television services, known as FAST channels, has created enormous demand for programming. Digital publishers with video content libraries, strong brands in specific verticals, or the ability to produce video content can distribute through CTV platforms and earn revenue from advertising within their CTV content. The barrier to entry is lower than many publishers assume.

Entering the CTV Market

Digital publishers have several pathways into the CTV advertising market, ranging from low-investment approaches to more ambitious content strategies.

Option 1: Launch a FAST Channel

Free ad-supported streaming television channels are one of the most accessible entry points for digital publishers. FAST channels operate like traditional cable channels but are delivered through streaming platforms. If you produce regular video content, you can package it into a linear streaming channel distributed through platforms like Pluto TV, Samsung TV Plus, Tubi, or the Roku Channel.

The content requirements are substantial. You need enough video content to fill a continuous programming schedule, typically requiring hundreds of hours of content. However, some publishers have found success by repackaging existing video content from YouTube, their websites, or social media into curated programming blocks. Compilation formats, topic-based shows, and serialized content can stretch a smaller video library into viable FAST programming. Several FAST aggregation services help smaller publishers bundle content and handle distribution logistics.

Option 2: CTV App Development

Building a dedicated app for CTV platforms gives you direct access to the living room audience. Major CTV platforms including Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, and Android TV support third-party apps. A publisher app can deliver video content, interactive experiences, and even text-based content optimized for the television screen.

App development costs vary significantly based on platform and feature complexity. A basic video streaming app for a single platform can be developed for a modest investment, while multi-platform apps with advanced features require larger budgets. Consider starting with a single platform where your audience is most concentrated and expanding based on performance. Roku tends to offer the largest addressable audience for FAST content in North America.

Option 3: Content Licensing

If you produce high-quality video content but do not want to manage distribution, licensing your content to existing CTV platforms and FAST channel operators is a lower-effort approach. Content licensing deals typically involve revenue sharing or flat licensing fees. This path requires less technical investment but also gives you less control over the advertising experience and audience data. It is an excellent starting point for publishers testing CTV viability before committing to larger investments.

Option 4: Cross-Screen Advertising Packages

Even without direct CTV inventory, publishers can participate in the CTV ecosystem by offering cross-screen advertising packages. Partner with CTV advertising platforms or networks that can deliver TV impressions alongside your web and mobile inventory. This allows you to sell unified campaigns that reach your audience across all screens, commanding higher total campaign budgets than web-only packages.

CTV Ad Monetization Mechanics

CTV advertising monetization differs from web advertising in several important ways that publishers need to understand before entering the market.

Ad Formats

CTV ads are primarily video, delivered in pre-roll, mid-roll, and post-roll positions within streaming content. Standard ad lengths are 15 and 30 seconds, matching traditional television formats. Interactive ad formats are emerging, allowing viewers to engage with ads using their remote controls, but traditional video spots remain the dominant format. Ad pod structures similar to traditional TV commercial breaks are common, with multiple ads served in sequence during natural content breaks.

CPM Rates

CTV commands significantly higher CPMs than web display advertising, typically ranging from 25 to 45 dollars per thousand impressions and sometimes exceeding that range for premium content and audiences. These rates reflect the high-attention environment of living room viewing, the limited ad inventory compared to the web, and the brand-safe nature of curated CTV content. For publishers accustomed to web display CPMs in the single digits, CTV rates represent a transformative revenue opportunity per impression.

Programmatic CTV

Programmatic buying is growing rapidly in CTV, though direct deals and programmatic guaranteed still represent a large share of CTV ad spending. Publishers entering the CTV market should implement programmatic capabilities through SSPs that support CTV inventory, such as Magnite, SpotX, or FreeWheel. Header bidding for CTV through Prebid Server is also gaining adoption, bringing the competitive dynamics that have benefited web publishers to the television screen.

Technical Considerations

Delivering advertising on CTV platforms involves technical requirements that differ from web advertising.

• VAST and VPAID compliance: CTV ad delivery relies on IAB standard video ad serving protocols. Ensure your ad infrastructure supports VAST tags for video ad delivery and that your VAST implementations meet current specification requirements
• Server-side ad insertion: Most CTV advertising uses server-side ad insertion (SSAI) rather than client-side ad loading. SSAI stitches ads directly into the video stream, providing a seamless viewing experience and reducing ad blocking vulnerability
• Measurement and attribution: CTV measurement is still maturing. Implement measurement partners that can track completion rates, reach, frequency, and increasingly, cross-device attribution connecting CTV exposure to web or mobile conversions
• Content delivery network: CTV content delivery requires robust CDN infrastructure capable of delivering high-quality video streams to diverse devices and network conditions without buffering
• Device fragmentation: CTV encompasses many different devices with varying capabilities, screen sizes, and operating systems. Test thoroughly across target platforms to ensure consistent experiences
• Content encoding: Video content must be encoded at appropriate bitrates and resolutions for television-quality playback, which requires different specifications than web video

Audience and Data Strategy for CTV

One of the most valuable aspects of CTV for publishers is the ability to extend your first-party data strategy to the television screen. If users log into your CTV app, you can connect their TV viewing behavior with their web and mobile activity, creating a comprehensive cross-device view of your audience.

This cross-device audience data is extremely valuable to advertisers. It enables unified frequency management, cross-screen attribution, and holistic audience targeting. Publishers who can offer authenticated cross-screen audience packages are positioned for significant premium pricing that far exceeds what either channel would command independently.

Privacy Considerations

CTV is subject to the same privacy regulations as other digital advertising, plus additional rules specific to television viewing data. The Video Privacy Protection Act in the United States restricts the sharing of video viewing data, and many state privacy laws include specific provisions for television viewing information. Ensure your CTV data practices comply with all applicable regulations and that your consent mechanisms cover CTV data collection and use. The intersection of digital privacy law and television-specific regulations creates a compliance environment that requires careful legal guidance.

Getting Started: A Practical Roadmap

1. Assess your content assets: Inventory your existing video content and evaluate its suitability for CTV distribution. Determine whether you have enough content for a FAST channel or app, and identify gaps you would need to fill
2. Research your audience: Survey your audience about their CTV consumption habits. Understand which platforms they use and how much time they spend on connected TV versus other screens
3. Start with partnerships: Before building your own CTV infrastructure, explore partnerships with existing CTV platforms, FAST channel aggregators, or content distributors who can handle technical complexity
4. Test and learn: Launch a minimal viable CTV presence, whether a FAST channel on a single platform or a cross-screen advertising partnership, and measure results before scaling investment
5. Invest in measurement: Implement robust measurement from day one so you can demonstrate ROI to advertisers and make data-driven decisions about expanding your CTV efforts

The CTV opportunity is real and growing for digital publishers willing to think beyond the browser. Whether you enter through content distribution, app development, or cross-screen advertising partnerships, the key is to start exploring now while the market is still developing and early movers can establish competitive positions that will be much harder to build once the market matures.