Connected TV (CTV) is the fastest-growing segment in programmatic, and it's attracting affiliate money that hi

Connected TV (CTV) is the fastest-growing segment in programmatic, and it's attracting affiliate money that historically sat in display and native.

The conversion path is different. CTV is an awareness and consideration channel — users don't click on TV ads. The attribution model has to account for view-through conversions, which requires either pixel-based household matching or probabilistic attribution. Both have accuracy limitations.

Where CTV works for performance-focused buyers:
- Upper-funnel awareness that feeds search and direct conversion
- Retargeting CTV viewers with follow-up display/native on the same household devices
- Verticals with higher consideration cycles (insurance, financial products, high-ticket services)

Where it doesn't: low-ticket impulse offers, verticals with no organic search demand lift, situations where you can't close the attribution loop.

Pricing reality: CTV CPMs run $20-60+ versus $2-8 for open web display. The volume math has to work — your offer needs enough margin and conversion rate to justify the impression cost before you get anywhere near payback on view-through attribution.