Connected TV.
Learn what Connected TV means in modern search and SEO.
Television content streamed over the internet via smart TVs, streaming sticks, or gaming consoles, accessed through OTT platforms and addressable to programmatic advertising.
Connected TV (CTV) refers to televisions that stream internet content — via built-in smart TV software (Samsung Tizen, LG webOS), streaming sticks (Roku, Fire TV), or gaming consoles (PlayStation, Xbox). CTV delivers linear TV-style full-screen video ads within ad-supported streaming services (Hulu, Peacock, Pluto, Tubi, Paramount+) to a household-level audience.
CTV vs. OTT
OTT (Over-the-Top) refers to the delivery mechanism: content delivered over the internet, bypassing traditional cable. CTV is the device: the connected television. All CTV is OTT, but OTT includes mobile phones and desktops too. In advertising contexts, CTV specifically refers to the living-room screen environment.
Addressability and Targeting
Unlike traditional broadcast TV (one ad to all viewers), CTV enables addressable advertising — different ads to different households watching the same content. Targeting layers include household demographics, purchase behaviour, geographic targeting, and retargeting using IP address or device graph matching to connect CTV household to online behaviour.
Measurement Challenges
CTV measurement lags digital display and social. Attribution is difficult: a viewer sees an ad on TV, then purchases on a mobile device days later — few attribution systems connect these. Solutions include IP-based attribution, QR codes in ads, pixel-based lift studies, and incrementality measurement comparing exposed vs. control households.
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