CTV is the next programmatic frontier. Buying on this channel requires a different approach. Costs are lower, since there are fewer top CTV apps and less duplication; CPMs are higher, but take rates aren’t always lower; and upfront buying plays less of a role in programmatic, though it’s still used to secure inventory up front that is executed programmatically.
To open this week’s episode, we hear from our on-the-ground CTV reporter, Victoria McNally, who has attended a dizzying array of TV sales presentations, from ads on fridges to vertical video apps to digital media companies and more. She weighs in on the buzzwords and positioning that’s dominating 2025 conversations.
Then, we dive into a market-shaking feature that Senior Editor James Hercher posted last week. In recent years, ad tech companies have moved to capture connected TV spend. And as more media spend moves to CTV, challenger DSPs are wooing buyers with lower take rates. From the no-fee Universal Ads DSP to Pontiac DSP to deals on the Amazon DSP, he talks through how the DSP revenue models are shifting to encompass new CTV inventory.
Should these changes make the industry bullish or bearish on The Trade Desk’s future? Since an earnings miss last quarter, its stock price has declined by half. But The Trade Desk is already dominant in CTV compared to other public-company challengers, such as Viant. And agency traders don’t seem too fussed about The Trade Desk’s take rate, Hercher says. “I am a big believer in inertia,” he says, “and The Trade Desk has a lot of inertia behind it.”
