Connected TV
Paid MediaAlso: CTV · CTV Advertising
Quick definition
Connected TV (CTV) refers to advertising served on internet-connected television screens through devices and apps like smart TVs, Chromecast, Apple TV or gaming consoles. CTV lets advertisers buy TV-style video ads programmatically, with the audience targeting and measurement normally associated with digital channels rather than traditional broadcast.
How it varies across Australia
Connected TV spend in Australia is growing faster than most other paid media categories as streaming overtakes broadcast viewing. Adoption is highest among mid-market and enterprise advertisers with existing programmatic advertising infrastructure. Smaller Australian businesses are still figuring out whether the production cost justifies the reach.
See paid media channel mix across Australian industries →What it actually means
Connected TV is what happens when a television stops being a broadcast device and becomes just another screen with an internet connection. Someone watching a streaming app through their smart TV, a Chromecast or a games console is a CTV audience, and the ad break they sit through can be bought the same way you'd buy a display advertising or programmatic advertising placement.
That's the appeal. Instead of buying a broad demographic slot on broadcast TV, you can target by household, by streaming behaviour, by the same audience segments you already use for paid social or programmatic display. The ad looks and feels like a TV commercial. The buying mechanics look like digital.
The catch is measurement. Click-through rate (CTR) doesn't really apply to a ten-second unskippable spot playing on a lounge room television. Most CTV campaigns measure completion rate and lift instead, then lean on attribution modelling to connect a view to a later conversion. That attribution chain is longer and messier than a search ad clicked and converted five minutes later, which means CTV results take longer to trust and are easier to argue about internally.
CTV promises the reach of television with the targeting of digital. Most advertisers get the invoice for the first and the tracking headaches of the second.
How it shows up
CTV shows up in campaign reporting as a line item alongside programmatic display and video, usually priced on cost per mille (CPM) rather than cost per click. It appears in platforms like The Trade Desk, Google Display & Video 360, or directly through streaming services like BVOD apps and YouTube on TV screens.
It also shows up as a reporting gap. Marketing teams often see CTV impressions and completion rates clearly, but struggle to connect those views to conversion rate or CPA without a proper measurement framework, view-through attribution windows, or a geo-lift test running alongside the campaign.
The Australian context
Australia's CTV market is smaller and more concentrated than the United States, dominated by a handful of broadcaster video-on-demand (BVOD) apps and global streaming platforms. That concentration makes inventory easier to buy but also easier to saturate, meaning frequency caps matter more here than in larger markets.
Australian advertisers also face a smart TV fragmentation problem that's less severe overseas: Samsung, LG, Telstra TV and various streaming boxes each have their own ad tech stack, which complicates unified reporting across a single campaign.
Where people get this wrong
Connected TV vs OTT
| Connected TV | OTT | |
|---|---|---|
| What it refers to | The screen and device the ad appears on | The content delivery method that bypasses broadcast or cable |
| Scope | Television screens specifically | Any device including phone, tablet, laptop or TV |
| Buying mechanism | Usually bought as a subset of programmatic video | Broader category CTV sits inside |
| Typical use in conversation | Used when discussing the living room screen experience | Used when discussing streaming content distribution generally |
Related terms
Common questions
What's the difference between CTV and OTT?
CTV refers specifically to the television screen the ad plays on. OTT (Over-The-Top) refers to any device streaming content outside traditional broadcast or cable, including phones and laptops. CTV is essentially the television subset of the broader OTT category.
How is CTV priced compared to broadcast TV?
CTV is typically bought programmatically on a cost per mille (CPM) basis, similar to digital display advertising, rather than the upfront and negotiated buys common in broadcast television. This makes smaller budgets and more precise targeting possible.
Can I measure conversions from CTV ads directly?
Not cleanly. Most CTV measurement relies on view-through attribution, completion rates and lift studies rather than direct click-to-conversion tracking, since viewers rarely interact with a television screen the way they click a digital ad.
Is CTV worth it for smaller Australian businesses?
It depends on budget and measurement maturity. CTV production and inventory costs are higher than most digital channels, and without a way to measure incrementality it's difficult to justify against channels with clearer attribution like paid search or paid social.
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About New Rebellion
New Rebellion is a marketing intelligence consultancy. We build tools, score Australian businesses on how their marketing actually performs, and publish Debrief every day. This dictionary is part of how we work in the open.
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