What is Connected TV (CTV)?
Connected TV (CTV) is a television set that streams video content over the internet, either because it is a smart TV or because it is linked to a streaming device, games console or set-top box.
Also known as: CTV, smart TV, streaming TV
How it works
A connected TV is simply a TV screen that can reach the internet. That can happen in two ways. A smart TV has apps built in, so viewers open a streaming app directly. A regular TV becomes connected when it is plugged into a streaming stick, box, games console or internet-enabled set-top box.
Once connected, the TV works like a large-screen app platform. Viewers browse a home screen, open apps from streaming services or broadcasters, and watch content on demand or live. Some apps are subscription only, some are free and supported by ads, and many offer both.
It helps to separate three terms that often get mixed up:
- CTV is the device and viewing environment: the TV in the living room.
- OTT is the delivery method: content streamed over the internet rather than broadcast.
- Streaming apps and channels are the content sources that run on CTV and other devices.
Advertising inside this environment has its own term, CTV advertising, covered separately.
Why it matters
Viewing has been moving from traditional broadcast toward streaming, and much of that streaming happens on the biggest screen in the home. For viewers, CTV brings app-style choice to the TV. For content owners, it creates a direct relationship with audiences through their own apps.
For the advertising world, CTV combines things that used to sit apart: the lean-back, shared viewing of television and the addressable, measurable delivery of digital media. It is also fragmented. There are many device makers, operating systems, apps and channels, each with different rules about data, ad formats and who can sell inventory.
Example
Example (illustrative): A household watches a cooking show on a free, ad-supported streaming app through a streaming stick plugged into their TV. Later the same evening, they open a broadcaster's app on the same TV to watch the live news. Both sessions are connected TV viewing, even though one is on demand and the other is a live stream.
IncrementX perspective
IncrementX works with CTV and OTT publishers, video owners and premium content platforms as part of its media representation work. For these media owners, representation can include understanding their inventory, packaging it for buyers and connecting it with direct, curated and programmatic demand.
The CTV channel page covers the formats IncrementX supports, such as in-stream video, overlay, home screen, live streaming and interactive placements. The CTV representation page explains how IncrementX approaches representation for CTV media owners.