Programmatic CTV Is Set to Hit $32B – Here’s Why Advertisers and Publishers Must Leverage Now!

Television advertising used to be simple: buy airtime, aim for reach, and accept rough metrics. But the digital era changed expectations, bringing a demand for precision, targeting, and accountability. For a while, traditional TV held out. Now that’s changing. Programmatic Connected TV has evolved from a niche solution to a mainstream strategy. What once held it back—technical complexity, legacy habits—is giving way to a data-driven mindset. Advertisers and publishers are beginning to treat CTV not as a digital add-on, but as a distinct, measurable medium with strategic weight.

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According to eMarketer, the future of the AdTech industry looks incredibly promising. U.S. CTV ad spending is projected to reach $32.57 billion by 2025. If you haven’t embraced CTV in your strategy, you could be missing out on significant returns.

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For advertising leaders, bold and strategic commitments to advanced AdTech capabilities, particularly programmatic CTV, are critical. By embedding them into both planning and operations, they will be best positioned to capture disproportionate value in the evolving media ecosystem.

In this informative piece of content, we explore how programmatic CTV is becoming a foundational element for advertisers and publishers navigating a highly fragmented landscape. With 2025 fast approaching, we’ll examine the trends shaping this space, the opportunities it creates for precision and scale, and the business decisions required to harness its full potential.

Programmatic CTV Trends and Priorities in 2025

In 2025, AI will drive smarter programmatic CTV and retail media, with a focus on precision, sustainability, and closed-loop attribution. Success will depend on personalization, carbon-conscious planning, and efficient media execution. Before getting into the top trends in programmatic CTV, let’s first look at how the market has evolved over recent years and where it’s headed next. Let’s explore eMarketer’s connected TV ad statistics:

AI-Powered Campaign Intelligence

Algorithmic intelligence in programmatic CTV is transforming decision-making at scale. Campaigns are now dynamically adjusted in-flight, optimizing for context, intent, and performance. This shift repositions CTV as a high-precision, outcome-driven medium, helping advertisers and publishers deliver more relevant content, enhance viewer engagement, and maximize inventory value.

Personalization Ads at Scale

Personalization has evolved from basic customization to an embedded capability within media infrastructure. Advertisers leveraging first-party data, behavioral signals, and contextual inputs enable deeper audience resonance. Publisher, in turn, reengineering content delivery to align with granular audience profiles by enhancing engagement, deepening loyalty, and unlocking differentiated value.

Sustainable Programmatic Media Buying as a Business Metric

Environmental considerations are becoming integral to media planning. Advertisers are now assessing carbon intensity alongside reach, cost, and performance. Sustainability is no longer a trade-off, but a key factor to determine long-term viability.

Growth of CTV and Retail Media

CTV is converging with retail media to deliver closed-loop performance and commerce activation. These fusion collapses traditional funnel distinctions, enabling full-cycle measurement and attribution. Media is no longer a cost center—it is a lever of transactional growth.

Programmatic CTV Drives Advertiser Success: Precision, Outcomes, and Contextual Power

Programmatic CTV goes beyond simply connecting advertisers with the audience, at the right moment, with the most relevant message. By strategically leveraging first-party data and real-time optimization, advertisers can achieve profound, outcome-oriented results moving beyond superficial metrics such as impressions. Let’s explore together.

First – First-party data is Now Table Stakes

Advertisers building direct customer relationships and integrating authenticated data across platforms are better equipped to deliver relevance at scale. In programmatic CTV, this translates into improved precision, not just in who sees the ad, but when, where, and how often.

Live Campaign Agility

The days of set-it-and-forget-it media buys are over. Today, advertisers can—and must—adjust campaigns mid-flight based on live signals. Whether optimizing for conversions, attention scores, or household-level frequency caps, the ability to act on data directly impacts ROI.

Context Matters More Than Ever – Especially in a Post-Cookie World

As behavioral signals become harder to access, advertisers are turning to content as a targeting tool. With advancements in metadata extraction and AI-based scene analysis, content-aligned placements now offer a scalable path to relevance without sacrificing privacy. As a result, the time spent with CTV is expected to grow 6.9% compared to 2024.

Outcomes – not Impressions Are the Currency of Credibility

Advertisers are now measured by tangible business results. Whether it’s driving sales through retail media partnerships or capturing first-party leads via CTV-native experiences, performance is now non-negotiable.

Programmatic CTV Fuels Publisher Growth: Maximizing Monetization and Retaining Data Ownership

Taking bold steps to build broader business strategies and unlock monetization, publishers are diving deeper into programmatic CTV, capturing value in previously undefined ways. Let’s explore how programmatic CTV is contributing to publisher growth.

From Impressions to Impact: A Monetization Model in Transition

The rise of advertising-based video-on-demand (AVOD) has become a crucial revenue stream for publishers, driven by consumers’ growing preference for free, ad-supported content. However, scale alone is no longer enough, given declining CPMs and heightened competition. By adopting advanced ad technologies, such as server-side ad insertion (SSAI), supply-side platform, ad network, etc., publishers can enhance viewer experiences, reduce ad fatigue, and unlock higher yields and stronger monetization.

The Opportunity:

• Higher retention: Fewer interruptions lead to longer watch times.
• Better CPMs: Premium ad experiences attract higher-value advertisers.
• Future-proofing: Preparing for the convergence of addressable TV and CTV.

Better Supply Path Optimization (SPO) Positioning

As programmatic ecosystems evolve, advertisers are consolidating toward supply paths that prioritize transparency, efficiency, and access to premium inventory. For publishers, this shift is a strategic opportunity, not a threat. By curating direct, high-integrity pathways and reducing reliance on opaque intermediaries, publishers can reposition themselves as indispensable partners in buyers’ SPO frameworks.

The Strategic Upside:

• Increased bid prioritization: Reduced latency and direct integration.
• Margin Recapture: Minimizing arbitrage layers and tech fees.
• Premium marketplace inclusion: Demonstrated transparency and inventory quality.

Transparent Performance Fosters Long-Term Buyer Trust

Programmatic CTV allows publishers to provide performance-driven insights that go beyond impressions to meaningful impact. Real-time transparency across viewability, completion rates, and content context empowers brands to optimize mid-flight and justify continued investment.

The Benefits:

• Premium demand access: Transparent environments attract outcome-focused advertisers.
• Increased yield: Verified performance drives stronger CPMs and long-term deals.
• Strategic partnerships: Data-sharing deepens buyer collaboration and campaign alignment.

The Strategic Value of First-Party Data

With the demise of third-party cookies, publishers now hold the power through direct audience relationships. First-party data isn’t just about compliance—it’s a competitive advantage that enables:

• Granular targeting: Delivering relevant ads without relying on third-party trackers.
• Premium pricing: Advertisers pay more for verified, high-intent audiences.
• Content monetization flexibility: From subscriptions to dynamic ad models.

Publishers investing in identity solutions, registration walls, and loyalty programs will unlock higher margins while maintaining trust.

Programmatic at Scale – Without Ceding Control

Programmatic advertising has matured beyond the race to the bottom. Today’s tools allow publishers to automate scale while retaining control through:

• Private marketplaces (PMPs): Curated deals that ensure brand safety.
• Unified pricing rules: Balancing open auction and guaranteed deals.
• AI-driven yield optimization: Real-time adjustments to maximize revenue per impression.

The goal is a hybrid approach that blends automation with strategic oversight-ensuring premium demand isn’t lost in the programmatic shuffle.

Navigate The Programmatic CTV Inflection Point For Optimal ROI with Rishabh Software

Programmatic CTV presents more than just scale; its actual value lies in how effectively businesses can harness its capabilities. You can achieve measurable outcomes and maximize ROI by integrating first-party data, contextual targeting, cross-platform development, and real-time optimization.

Building future-ready, data-driven advertising solutions is not a simple task. It’s essential to act swiftly. Let’s join forces—combining your vision with our technical expertise, experience, and market innovation to turn your goals into reality.

Our AdTech Expertise:

• Advanced Strategy & Consulting: Our experienced consultants collaborate closely with your leadership to refine and optimize AdTech strategies, ensuring they align with your long-term business goals. We help you make data-driven decisions and improve campaign performance through advanced targeting and optimization techniques.
• AdTech Platform Development: Under our AdTech development services, we build tailored AdTech platforms that deliver end-to-end solutions, integrating proposal management, campaign orchestration, and real-time analytics. These platforms empower businesses with unparalleled control, providing deep insights that drive precision at every stage of the advertising lifecycle.
• Seamless Integration: Rishabh Software excels in integrating disparate AdTech and MarTech systems, creating a unified ecosystem that ensures operational efficiency, simplifies workflows, and enables seamless execution of cross-channel strategies.
• Continuous Modernization & Support: We help you keep your AdTech and MarTech platforms competitive and future-ready by driving ongoing modernization initiatives and offering comprehensive support.