CTV Benchmark Report Also Finds Nearly 7% of All CTV Impressions Run on Undesirable Content

Connected TV (CTV) advertising is incredibly popular with advertisers as they look to reach audiences that are no longer addressable via linear TV. As advertisers invest billions of dollars in CTV advertising this year, they face myriad challenges that could undermine their investment, including undesirable and unsuitable content.

New research revealed today by Peer39, the leading global provider of contextual suitability and quality solutions for modern marketers, illustrates a fraught CTV landscape where advertisers of all sizes, including the Fortune 500, can be susceptible to advertising on divisive or fake content.

Divisive Content Requires Suitability Strategies
The rapid rise of CTV has led to several channels that lack the editorial oversight of mainstream media. As a result, this content can veer into hyperpartisan political programming or even misinformation. Unfortunately, major advertisers continue to find their ads running next to this programming.

Peer39’s CTV Benchmark Report 2023 finds that nearly half (49%) of all ads viewed on divisive channels over a 10-week period came from Fortune 500 companies. In total, 72 different Fortune 500 brands ran ads on divisive channels over the course of the study.

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The Rise of Fake CTV Content
Another major issue with programmatic CTV is the rise of fake CTV content. These are OTT apps available within marketplaces that label themselves as CTV within programmatic marketplaces but do not fit the standard concept of TV programming. This includes screensaver channels, photo widgets, games, and mobile apps posing as CTV.

Although major advertisers were less likely to advertise on fake content, Peer39 still found that 37% of ads observed came from Fortune 500 brands, with 38 different Fortune 500 brands running ads. Overall, 6.8% of programmatic ad calls that Peer39 sees from more than 50,000 OTT/CTV apps come from these fake CTV apps. Of the more than 50,000 OTT apps that present themselves as CTV content, nearly 10,000 of these qualify as fake CTV content.

When looking at fake and divisive content in aggregate, 45% of the observed ads came from Fortune 500 brands. Based on conservative estimates, brands are wasting hundreds of millions of dollars on low-quality CTV inventory.

“Our research spotlights the most troublesome suitability and transparency concerns that CTV buyers encounter and need to be more aware of,” said Mario Diez, CEO of Peer39. “Fortune 500 brands are running ads on divisive news and other content that doesn’t match the definition of ‘TV.’ Clearly, buyers have a substantial opportunity to remove this wasted CTV investment through a more active and actionable suitability strategy.”

Peer39’s research highlights the need for granular pre-bid data and suitability strategies in the emerging programmatic CTV market. In one instance, a brand running a CTV campaign without appropriate brand suitability controls found that 11% of its impressions ran on fake CTV content. By instituting Peer39’s suitability controls, the brand was able to place 100% of its impressions within suitable content.

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