CTV advertising is where a growing share of video budgets now goes, and October 2026 brought a burst of new deals, tools, and marketplaces built around it. IAB estimates U.S. connected TV ad spend will reach $29.3 billion this year, and in September its survey of buyers raised expected CTV growth to 15.6%. For a website publisher, the obvious question is whether any of that money can reach you.
It can, but not by putting a TV ad on a web page. CTV money flows to video that plays on television screens, sold through paths buyers trust. This guide explains how big the market is, what changed this month, what buyers say they trust and avoid, and four practical routes publishers can use to get a share.
What Is CTV Advertising?
Connected TV, or CTV, means television sets that stream video over the internet, either through a smart TV, a streaming stick, or a game console. CTV advertising is the video ads shown inside those streams: on ad-supported streaming services, in free ad-supported TV (FAST) channels, and inside apps such as YouTube when viewed on a television.
From an ad tech point of view, CTV uses much of the same programmatic plumbing as web video. Buyers use demand-side platforms (DSPs), publishers use supply-side platforms (SSPs), and deals run through open auctions, private marketplaces, or programmatic guaranteed agreements. The big differences are that ads are usually stitched into the stream on the server side, viewers watch on a shared big screen, and buyers pay premium prices for that lean-back attention.
How Big Is CTV Advertising in 2026?
According to Guideline estimates in IAB's 2026 Digital Video Ad Spend and Strategy Report, U.S. CTV ad spend grew from $15.2 billion in 2021 to $26.5 billion in 2025 and is expected to reach $29.3 billion in 2026, up about 11%. Total U.S. digital video, which also includes social video and online video, should pass $80 billion.
Two details matter for publishers. First, social video, which IAB counts as including YouTube, overtook CTV in 2025, so platforms with creator content are taking a bigger slice. Second, buyers expect more growth than the January plan: IAB's September 2026 Outlook update raised expected CTV spend growth to 15.6%, up from 13.8% in January, making it the second fastest growing channel after social media.
Viewing supports the spending. Nielsen's July 2026 Gauge put streaming at 49.0% of all U.S. TV viewing, with YouTube alone at a record 14.2%.
What Changed in CTV Advertising This Month
Search interest for "ctv advertising" in Google Trends sat at zero on 59 of the 60 days from July 20, then climbed steadily from early October, averaging 24 over the last two weeks. On X, we counted 80 posts on CTV advertising terms in the seven days to October 20. The news flow explains why.
- New supply from gaming consoles. On October 6, PubMatic said Sony Pictures Entertainment had named it the preferred programmatic partner for LIVE TV on PS5, a free ad-supported streaming service launched on August 31. The first opportunities are in-stream video, with preferred deals, private marketplaces, and sponsorships also supported.
- Better content data for buyers. On October 14, The Desk reported that Wurl launched a Content Intelligence Platform that passes programming information to DSPs including Yahoo DSP, StackAdapt, and Viant. Wurl says it reaches more than 140 billion monthly ad impressions, and in its own survey 79% of industry respondents said data quality, fragmented inventory, and compatibility problems limit streaming TV campaigns.
- Shorter supply paths. On October 19, Viant introduced a Deals Marketplace that connects buyers directly into premium publisher ad servers. Viant says its marketplace deals averaged 22% lower CPMs than comparable deals bought through SSPs, a reminder that buyers are actively trimming intermediaries.
The pattern is clear. Buyers want more CTV inventory, but they want to know exactly what they are buying and they want fewer hops between their budget and your ad server.
What CTV Buyers Trust and What They Avoid
IAB's survey of 360 U.S. video ad buyers, fielded in February and March 2026, shows a trust problem across CTV. Even the most trusted buying methods, publisher-direct insertion orders and programmatic guaranteed deals, earn high confidence in inventory transparency from only 57% of buyers. Private marketplaces fall to 45% and open exchanges to 33%.
Among buyers who lack confidence in open exchange CTV, 56% blame fraud or invalid traffic, 48% cite unverified publisher or content sources, and 44% cite unconfirmed program or genre placement. When buyers cut spend with a streaming partner, the top reasons are cost (47%), audience delivery (47%), targeting (46%), and business outcomes (45%).
For publishers, that is a useful checklist. Buyers reward inventory they can verify, describe, and measure, and they pay less attention to everything else.
4 Ways Publishers Can Get a Share of CTV Advertising
1. Put your video where TV viewers already watch
For most website publishers, the fastest route to TV screens is a YouTube channel built from your existing expertise. With YouTube at 14.2% of all U.S. TV viewing in Nielsen's July data, a channel that answers the same questions as your best articles can earn ad revenue on living room screens without building any TV technology. Our guide on how many subscribers you need to get paid on YouTube covers the eligibility rules.
2. Launch a FAST channel through a distributor
If you already have a large library of video, companies such as Wurl provide the infrastructure to distribute FAST channels to smart TV platforms and monetize them with ads. The trade-off is control: platforms and distributors take a share of revenue, and terms vary widely. Before signing, ask for net revenue per thousand viewing minutes, who sells the ads, whether you can bring your own direct deals, and what reporting you get by program.
3. Make your inventory easy to verify
Every trust problem in the IAB data has a technical fix you can ask your partners for. Publish accurate app-ads.txt files for any TV apps you run, make sure your sellers appear correctly in your SSPs' sellers.json files, and pass content signals such as genre, rating, and live or on-demand status in each ad request. Choosing the right partner matters here, and our list of the best SSPs for publishers is a good place to start comparing CTV support.
4. Sell direct and guaranteed first
Buyers trust publisher-direct and programmatic guaranteed deals most, and Viant's marketplace shows they will move budget toward paths with fewer hops. Package your best video inventory around clear audiences and content themes, and offer it as programmatic guaranteed or private deals before letting it fall to the open exchange. If you sell web video today, our comparison of outstream vs in-stream video ads explains which formats buyers value most.
How to Estimate CTV Revenue Before You Commit
CTV revenue follows a simple formula: ad opportunities multiplied by fill rate multiplied by CPM, minus the share kept by platforms and ad tech partners. Run the numbers with your own inputs and with conservative assumptions.
Here is an illustrative example, not a benchmark: a channel that creates 1,000,000 ad opportunities a month, fills 60% of them at a $15 CPM, earns $9,000 in gross ad revenue. If partners keep 40%, the publisher nets $5,400. Change any one input, and especially the fill rate, and the result moves quickly. Ask every partner for actual fill and net CPM data from channels similar to yours before you invest in production.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a website show CTV ads?
No. CTV ads play inside video streams on television screens. A website can earn from CTV budgets only by distributing video to TV screens, for example through YouTube, a FAST channel, or its own TV app.
Is CTV advertising worth it for small publishers?
It can be if you already produce video or have a library you can repurpose. If you do not, start with YouTube, where the cost of entry is low, and treat FAST channels or apps as a later step once you know your video draws an audience.
Why are CTV buyers worried about fraud?
Because open exchange CTV inventory is hard to verify. In IAB's survey, fraud or invalid traffic was the top concern among buyers who lack confidence in open exchange CTV, followed by unverified publisher sources. Clean app-ads.txt and sellers.json records, plus direct deals, address most of those worries.
The Bottom Line
CTV advertising is one of the few ad channels still growing at double digits, and October's deals show buyers want more of it on cleaner terms. Website publishers will not win that money with display tricks. They will win it by getting video onto TV screens, making their inventory easy to verify, and selling it through the direct and guaranteed paths buyers already trust.
Sources
We keep outbound links to a minimum. The facts above come from these named sources, checked on October 20, 2026.
- IAB, 2026 Digital Video Ad Spend and Strategy Full Report, July 2026. Download the IAB video report
- IAB, IAB Raises 2026 U.S. Ad Spend Forecast to +12.3% YoY Growth, September 10, 2026. Read the IAB outlook update
- Nielsen, July 2026 reports of The Gauge, September 10, 2026. Read the Nielsen release
- PubMatic, Sony Pictures Entertainment Names PubMatic Its Preferred Programmatic Advertising Partner, October 6, 2026. Read the PubMatic announcement
- The Desk, Wurl launches new CTV ads solution with demand-side platforms, October 14, 2026. Read The Desk report
- Viant, New Viant Deals Marketplace Improves Advertiser CTV Value, October 19, 2026. Read the Viant update