Connected TV Advertising Statistics

This figure reflects the shift of TV budgets from linear to streaming. However, eMarketer's projections assume continued cord-cutting and platform consolidation. The growth rate masks significant variation by vertical: direct-to-consumer and financial services lead adoption, while CPG and automotive lag. CMOs should note that growth doesn't equal profitability—rising CPMs are compressing margins for mid-market advertisers.

This breadth of penetration makes CTV a near-universal reach channel, but fragmentation creates a buyer's nightmare. Reaching a single audience across Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime, and Hulu requires multiple buys, each with different targeting capabilities and measurement standards. The 4.7-service average suggests audience fatigue and subscription churn, which impacts campaign frequency and creative fatigue.

Higher viewability is a genuine CTV advantage, driven by full-screen viewing and lower ad load. However, this metric masks quality variance: viewability on premium platforms (Netflix, Disney+) exceeds 75%, while ad-supported tiers and AVOD services drop to 55-60%. CMOs should negotiate viewability guarantees in contracts and avoid conflating viewability with engagement or conversion.

Programmatic adoption accelerates efficiency and scale, but introduces new risks. Programmatic CTV relies on third-party data and audience segments that vary widely in accuracy. Vendor-sponsored research from ad tech platforms inflates the benefits of programmatic; independent audits reveal 15-25% audience overlap and segment drift. CMOs must invest in first-party data strategies and audience validation to avoid wasted spend.

CTV CPMs have risen 35-40% since 2021, driven by demand concentration and limited premium inventory. Prices vary dramatically by platform, audience segment, and time of day. Vendor reports often cite lower averages ($20-$30) by bundling low-quality remnant inventory. CMOs should benchmark against category peers and negotiate volume discounts; expect 20-30% premium for first-party audience data and brand-safe environments.

This is the critical gap limiting CTV ROI confidence. Most CTV platforms offer last-click attribution, which overstates CTV's impact on direct conversion and undervalues its role in awareness and consideration. Cross-device tracking remains fragmented; only 35% of CMOs can reliably attribute CTV exposure to web or mobile conversion. This measurement gap is the primary reason CTV budgets remain small relative to search and social, despite strong reach metrics.

This is vendor-sponsored research, so apply skepticism—Salesforce benefits from higher CTV spend and data integration. However, the underlying insight is sound: first-party data (email lists, customer IDs, website visitors) significantly outperforms third-party audience segments. The 2.5x lift assumes proper list matching and frequency capping. CMOs should prioritize CRM integration and authenticated audience strategies over broad demographic targeting.

CTV fraud is lower than display (15-20%) but higher than many CMOs expect. Fraud concentrates in programmatic buys and low-cost inventory. Premium, direct deals with major platforms (Netflix, Disney+) have near-zero fraud. CMOs should require fraud detection guarantees in programmatic contracts and audit trafficking partners quarterly. Budget 10-15% waste allocation for fraud, bot traffic, and viewability failures.