Answers to Your CTV Questions

3 min read·Dec 20, 2022

As a Connected TV and OTT ad platform, we get lots of questions about what’s possible and what’s not when advertising via CTV.

Here then are the Top 5 questions we’ve received, and the answers so you needn’t ask!

1. Can I target TV watchers based on their interest, age, gender or income?

Absolutely! Connected TV and OTT has brought a lot of innovation to marketers when it comes to measurement and targeting. With CTV advertising, you can target households just like you do on social media. While traditional broadcast TV (or linear TV) made it super difficult and expensive to target, say, 20-30 year old females interested in sports, using Vibe it only takes a few clicks and you can target every one in the segment watching via their Connected TVs.

According to emarketer, there were 183.5 million Connected TV viewers in the US as of 2020. This means that over 60% of the US population and 80% of everyone with a TV in the house is a Connected TV viewer.

Plus, thanks to the flexibility and ease-of-use of these devices, Connected TV is a medium which attracts viewers across all generations: baby boomers are 32.8 million users of the total, GenX are 48.5m, Millennials (56.5m) while Gen Z constitutes 45.7 m.

3. Can I run ads on Netflix or Disney+?

Unfortunately Netflix and Disney+ only offer an ad-free service to their subscribers. Users pay a premium to access these services without brands being able to show them ads. There have been murmurs in the broadcast industry that Netflix is considering an entry level plan which would include ads for viewers. Netflix’s biggest rival, Hulu, offers a similar plan but nothing has been confirmed yet by Netflix.

4. Are CTV and OTT the same thing?

The ad industry loves complicated terminology, so if these acronyms confuse or annoy you, you’re not alone. CTV advertising brought new terminology to the TV ad market and it isn’t always obvious which term refers to which platform, or more importantly for advertisers, which viewers.

It's super important that if you’re going to spend money promoting your brand, that you be crystal clear about which market and viewers you’re able to reach. So we wrote a dedicated article about the differences between CTV, OTT and Linear TV. Now, you can talk the same language as marketers.

5. Is CTV content consumed only on television?

Yes… And no. CTV is either a device connected to the internet and plugged into a television or a TV connected to the internet;  in either case this is content consumed via a TV. But when we talk about CTV content, in reality, we’re often really talking about OTT (Over-The-Top) content. And no, that doesn’t mean that it’s outrageous or out of this world.

OTT content is made available by services such as Hulu, Sling, Pluto, etc, as well as traditional broadcasters catch-up or on-demand services. Their content can be viewed on pretty much any device with a screen large enough for you to enjoy your favorite TV shows.

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