AdExchanger’s Top 3 CTV Stories Of 2024

Since Christmas and New Year fall right in the middle of the week this year, let’s be honest with ourselves: 2024 is already upon us.

Which means now is a good time to take a look at how far CTV advertising has come and take a look back at some of the most read articles on AdExchanger this year.

(And for a more in-depth analysis of how things have changed over the past 12 months, be sure to read the Senior Editor Alyssa Boyle Recap of CTV’s biggest trends this year.)

Without further ado, let’s get down to it.

1. How streamers battle dwindling TV ad inventory (March)

Not only do TV viewers generally dislike watching commercials, but thanks to streaming services like Netflix, which didn’t introduce advertising until late 2022they’ve become accustomed to entertaining experiences that don’t include commercial breaks.

If you’re on board with the prediction that US TV could lose up to a quarter of its ad volume by 2027, that’s a pretty serious existential threat to the future of TV advertising — one that’s forcing publishers with streaming services to get creative with how they scale up . their ads load, as Alyssa explained earlier this year.

So far it looks like it’s paying off. During their third–quarter profit callsMost publishers reported that their ad-supported streaming levels as well as FAST channels saw huge growth, if not outright profitability.

2. The debate over premium content is holding back CTV’s programmatic growth (May)

“Premium content” is like beauty in that it exists in the eye of the beholder – and is also capable of starting wars.

Granted, the ongoing battle between publishers and agencies to buy CTV programmatic probably won’t be the subject of any epic Greek poems or Brad Pitt movies. (Although, you never know. Corporate biopics are big right now!)

Still, programmatic adoption continues to grow exponentially in the CTV landscape, whether publishers are ready to relinquish control of their “premium content” or not.

3. Is content ownership really a conflict for DSPs? (November)

Speaking of content, at the end of November The Trade Desk finally announced – well, I admit, really – it plans to release its own TV operating system called Ventura in the second half of 2025.

Getting into the OS game is hard at this stage, especially without any control over the actual TV hardware. Perhaps that’s why The Trade Desk framed its move as a way to create a more even playing field with other DSPs that own their own content libraries — which, from TTD CEO Jeff Green’s perspective, represents a conflict of interest.

It’s certainly an argument worth making, though not everyone I’ve asked is convinced.

And so TTD’s Ventura is unlikely to start a trend of new OS knockoffs, at least not until its efforts prove successful. Yet the tension between content ownership and content delivery systems are likely to be worth watching in the future.

Make new friends but keep the old ones

That’s the end of 2024! Stay tuned for our predictions for what’s in store for CTV advertising in 2025, and enjoy the holidays.

Questions? Comments? Worry? Attack me [email protected].