Connected TV advertising explained: what is CTV and when does it make sense?

Connected TV (CTV) advertising is video advertising inside streaming content on internet-connected TVs.

Think of a spot during an episode on a streaming service’s ad-supported tier. Or on a free streaming channel via a smart TV, or a Roku or Fire TV stick.

The verdict: CTV is strong at brand awareness and weak at direct leads. For most Belgian B2B companies it only makes sense once search and social ads already pay off.

The difference with traditional TV? You can pick a specific audience and measure afterwards who saw your ad.

We’re a Belgian B2B growth agency, not a webshop, so we look at CTV through what brings in customers and revenue. For many SMEs, it isn’t yet the first place to send your advertising budget.

Tip: check whether your ad budget is paying off with our free ROAS calculator.

What is Connected TV (CTV)?

It’s a television connected to the internet, and the scope is broader than smart TVs alone.

CTV covers every device you use to stream content onto your TV screen:

• Smart TVs from brands like Samsung and LG
• Streaming sticks like Roku and Amazon Fire TV
• Game consoles like a PlayStation or Xbox

Why viewers are moving to streaming

According to Pew Research, 83 percent of American adults watch streaming services. Only 36 percent still have a cable or satellite subscription at home:

In Q4 2025, Nielsen found that 74.2 percent of all TV viewing time was ad-supported. Streaming took the largest share at 45.6 percent, more than traditional cable or broadcast.

These figures come from the US.

But the direction is the same in Belgium and the Netherlands: viewers are shifting to streaming, and ad money follows.

CTV versus OTT

You often hear the two used interchangeably. They aren’t the same.

OTT (over-the-top) is how video is delivered over the internet, independent of cable or satellite. That can also happen on a phone, tablet or laptop.

CTV is specifically the TV screen.

In short: OTT is the delivery channel, CTV is the screen in your living room.

What is CTV advertising and how does it differ from traditional TV?

CTV advertising shows video ads inside streaming content, with the reporting and optimisation of online advertising.

Your ad appears on the ad-supported tiers of streaming services, or on free ad-supported streaming channels (FAST). It’s the full, lean-back experience of a TV spot.

Traditional TV: you buy a slot and hope

With a traditional TV campaign you buy a time slot.

You pay for a broad audience and afterwards you know little about who you actually reached.

CTV: you target and measure

With CTV you target precisely on location, interests and behaviour.

Afterwards you see how many people saw your ad, how long they watched and what they did next.

It’s essentially PPC thinking applied to the biggest screen in the house.

The big players are piling in

That targeting keeps getting sharper:

• Amazon has positioned its demand-side platform (DSP) as a cross-screen programmatic ecosystem
• Pinterest acquired tvScientific to connect its discovery-driven audience data to TV reach
• Netflix’s ad-supported tier generated around 1.5 billion dollars in revenue in 2025 and expects to nearly double that in 2026

For B2B, it has recently become possible to reach professional audiences on the TV screen. That works through LinkedIn Connected TV ads via partners such as Roku and Samsung, an extension of LinkedIn Ads.

Targeting keeps sharpening, and ad money follows.

How does CTV advertising work technically?

Most CTV runs on programmatic advertising: an automated auction that matches your ad to the right viewer in milliseconds.

Here’s what happens from the moment someone hits play:

1. The viewer starts content. Someone picks a programme on their smart TV or streaming device.
2. The publisher shares data. The streaming service sends available viewer information to an ad exchange: device type, content genre, possibly known demographics.
3. The auction starts. A real-time bidding process kicks off for this specific ad moment, before the content even loads.
4. DSPs bid. Advertisers bid automatically through their demand-side platform if the viewer meets their targeting criteria.
5. The highest bidder wins and their ad is shown.

It takes under a second. It runs across millions of devices at once.

Who does what

Three players make it work:

• DSPs: advertisers use them to bid and target
• SSPs: publishers use them to offer their ad inventory
• Ad exchanges: the marketplaces where the two meet

You can buy CTV ads through an open auction, a closed private marketplace, or a direct deal at a fixed price.

As an advertiser you don’t have to untangle that technology yourself. You work with a buying platform or an agency that sets it up.

But CTV uses the same data and auction logic as the rest of your digital ads.

So it demands the same discipline on targeting and measurement.

When does CTV make sense for B2B (and when doesn’t it)?

CTV is first and foremost a brand awareness channel.

It’s excellent for introducing your brand to a specific audience and staying in their heads.

It won’t deliver a stream of quote requests next week.

Expect direct leads and you’ll be disappointed.

For example, say a 20-person software firm spends its first 5,000 euros on CTV and expects demo requests the same month. They’d be better served by search ads.

Picture your funnel. CTV works on the top layer, where people get to know your brand, while leads come in at the bottom through high-intent channels:

CTV can make sense if

• You have a clearly defined audience you can reach by geography or interests, for example decision makers in a certain region or sector
• Your goal is brand awareness and trust in a market with a long buying cycle, where people need to know your name before they’ll talk to you
• You already have budget left over once your performance channels pay off, and you want to strengthen the top of the funnel

CTV is usually not the right first step if

• You’re a small or mid-sized SME with a limited budget. Search ads (people actively searching), LinkedIn ads (precise B2B targeting) and remarketing (bringing back people who already visited your site) almost always return more.
• You mainly steer on direct leads or short-term sales. CTV works on a different, slower layer.
• You can’t invest enough to generate meaningful data. A CTV budget that’s too small produces noise, not insight.

Rule of thumb: steer on customers and revenue, not on vanity reach.

Start with the channels where intent is highest and the return is measurable fastest. Only once that machine is running does it make sense to feed the top of your funnel through CTV.

For the right company, at the right moment, CTV is a strong channel.

It’s just rarely the first one.

What does CTV advertising cost and how do you measure it?

CTV is usually billed on a CPM basis: cost per thousand impressions.

For most American campaigns, rates sit between 20 and 40 dollars per thousand impressions, according to AI Digital. Many campaigns land around 25 dollars:

Where you land depends on how deep your targeting goes and how premium the content is.

Premium direct deals, such as on Netflix, are considerably higher.

Belgian rates differ per platform and partner. Still, plan it deliberately.

How do you spend the budget wisely?

Three principles:

• Start with a test budget. Industry guidance often points to 15 to 30 percent of your digital video budget as a starting point for a meaningful test. Not everything at once.
• Set frequency caps. Research cited by Simulmedia suggests that three to seven impressions optimise impact, while more than ten can lower purchase intent. Hitting the same viewer too often burns budget.
• Measure what counts. Look beyond impressions: completion rate (do people watch your spot through?), website visits after the campaign, and ultimately the impact on your ROAS and enquiries.

Platform figures often overstate CTV’s contribution.

Incrementality tests (exposed versus control group) give a clearer picture.

CTV rewards deliberate spending over volume.

A campaign that works has a clear goal, a defined audience and creative that lands with the sound off.

Frequently asked questions about CTV advertising

What is the difference between CTV and OTT?

CTV refers to the devices that connect a TV screen to the internet: smart TVs, streaming sticks and game consoles.

OTT is the broader method of delivering video over the internet and also covers phones, tablets and laptops. A CTV buy specifically targets the TV set in the living room, whereas a broader OTT buy can reach every screen.

Is CTV a lead channel or a branding channel?

Branding, first and foremost.

CTV is strong at building awareness and trust with a targeted audience.

It isn’t a direct-response channel that brings in leads in the short term. For leads, search ads, LinkedIn and remarketing are generally more efficient.

Do I need a large TV budget to get started with CTV?

No. Self-serve buying platforms have lowered the barrier considerably, so you can test CTV without a traditional TV budget.

But you do need enough budget to generate meaningful data. A test that’s too small delivers no usable insight.

Does CTV make sense for a small Belgian B2B SME?

Usually only as a second step.

Start with high-intent channels with quickly measurable returns: search ads, LinkedIn, remarketing. Then, once it runs, CTV can add brand awareness for a specific audience.

Ready to put your advertising budget to smart use?

CTV is an interesting channel, but only if the rest of your advertising foundation is already in place.

The question isn’t “should we go on TV?”

It’s “where does our euro deliver the most return today?”

We help you choose based on what brings in customers and revenue, not on what sounds loudest.

Contact us and we’ll look at your current mix with you.