Separating fact from fiction: Four CTV advertising misconceptions

Connected TV (CTV) continues to expand as a dominant force in digital advertising. Streaming adoption is climbing, yet advertising budgets aren’t keeping pace. With the Newfronts and Upfronts presentations completed, advertisers are being asked to make big decisions with lingering questions still in the mix.

One of the biggest barriers? Persistent misconceptions about what CTV can and can’t do. That uncertainty can hold teams back from putting serious weight behind the most addressable screen in the house.

Experian works with leading CTV partners to tackle those concerns head on – whether it’s improving measurement, reducing wasted impressions, or making audience data more actionable.

To help marketers walk into Upfront conversations with clarity and confidence, we connected with industry experts from Ampersand, the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF), FreeWheel, and Madhive to separate fact from fiction.

Here are four common CTV myths – and the reality behind them

1. CTV is not ready for performance marketing

Why this misconception exists

CTV was once seen as a branding tool—good for awareness, but hard to measure. Without clear attribution or precise targeting, it wasn’t built for the kind of performance marketing advertisers expect from digital media.

What’s actually happening

In the not-so-distant past, marketers lacked a consistent way to connect CTV impressions to digital or in-store actions because of device fragmentation and limited signal sharing between platforms. Today, you can reach specific audiences on the biggest screen in the house—and know what happened after they saw your ad.

Advancements in identity resolution and cross-device tracking now allow advertisers to measure everything from incremental reach to store visits and purchases. The growing use of universal identifiers like Unified ID 2.0 (UID2) makes it easier to connect ad exposure to real outcomes across screens.

“With better visibility into who’s watching CTV and what they do afterward, it’s no longer just about getting a message in front of people—we can actually understand if it drove real-world results, like a store visit or a purchase. By tapping into high-quality audience data—from behavioral to demographic to transactional—we’re able to improve match rates and reach, which ultimately leads to more meaningful outcomes for advertisers.”

Murphy Vandemotter, Director of Data Operations, Madhive

That shift—from impressions to impact—is what makes CTV a true performance channel, not just a way to build brand awareness.

How Madhive works with Experian to provide data that drives better targeting and measurement – at scale

Madhive is helping local advertisers achieve better CTV outcomes by integrating Experian’s syndicated audiences directly into the Madhive Data Marketplace. Advertisers are using Experian’s data to better understand local audiences, deliver more personalized messaging, and extend campaign reach – in some cases, achieving 10x the reach compared to other marketplaces.

Combined with Madhive’s measurement tools and real-time optimization capabilities, advertisers can maximize their CTV investments by building lookalike audiences, quickly adjusting underperforming strategies, and personalizing engagement with viewers at the local level.

2. CTV advertising lacks brand safety and fraud protection

Why this misconception exists

CTV is sometimes lumped in with the broader digital ecosystem, where concerns around fraud, brand safety, and opaque buying paths are more common. Some advertisers worry they’re not getting what they paid for—or worse, that their ads could appear next to low-quality content.

What’s actually happening

CTV has a much stronger foundation for brand safety and ad fraud than many marketers realize. The most effective way to minimize risk is to work directly with premium publishers and their primary technology platforms — not through long, complex chains of intermediaries that can open the door to fraud and low-quality placements.

Platforms like FreeWheel provide direct access to premium CTV inventory across major broadcast and cable brands, helping marketers consolidate spend and significantly reduce exposure to risk. Working with primary supply partners ensures ads run alongside trusted, high-quality programming, not questionable or low-value content. By prioritizing direct paths to premium publishers, advertisers can take greater control over where their campaigns appear, achieving better transparency, higher quality, and stronger outcomes.

“Advertisers can reach a broad collection of premium CTV inventory directly through FreeWheel. This not only greatly reduces a marketer’s risk, but it also provides certainty that they’re getting what they paid for in terms of quality content to appear alongside their brands.”

Matt Clark, VP of Strategic Partnerships, FreeWheel

In other words, cutting corners often increases risk—while consolidation and direct access to premium supply creates a cleaner, safer media buy.

How Experian and FreeWheel match quality content with quality targeting

Industry standards like OpenRTB 2.6 are evolving to give advertisers more control over where and how their ads appear. At the same time, Experian is helping advertisers maximize that control through our integration with FreeWheel.

Advertisers can access Experian’s syndicated audiences directly within FreeWheel’s sell and buy-side programmatic advertising platforms. This gives advertisers the ability to create and activate campaigns across linear, digital, and advanced TV. Backed by a deep understanding of people in the offline and digital worlds, Experian’s data is ranked #1 in accuracy by Truthset, giving advertisers confidence that they are reaching the right people. Television audiencesyou can reach include cord-cutters and consumers who subscribe to free and paid ad-supported streaming TV services.

3. CTV audiences are too fragmented to manage effectively

Why this misconception exists

With so many streaming platforms and devices in play, US households subscribe to 4 paid video streaming services on average, it can feel nearly impossible to manage reach and frequency without overspending or annoying your audience.

What’s actually happening

Advertisers don’t need to choose between scale and precision anymore. With the right audience and identity strategy, it’s possible to connect the dots across screens and unify fragmented viewing behaviors.

“We activate first- and third-party data across CTV, linear, and video-on-demand in a consistent way—making sure campaigns reach real households, not just devices. We also track unduplicated reach and frequency across platforms, so advertisers can understand what’s actually working. Together with Experian, we can measure whether those impressions moved the needle and guide media planning with full-funnel attribution insights.“

Anastasia Dukes-Asuen, Sr. Director of Advanced TV Data & Insights, Ampersand

Experian Audiences are built on our household-level identity graph, giving advertisers a powerful tool to manage reach and frequency across screens.

How Ampersand works with Experian

Ampersand utilizes Experian Marketing Data to enhance audience-based media planning, activation, and optimization across linear and addressable TV platforms. By combining Experian Audiences with a footprint of 64 million data-enabled homes, Ampersand helps advertisers find the most valuable networks and dayparts to reach their intended viewers. Through its Addressable Simulator tool, powered by Experian data, Ampersand models different budget scenarios to show how reallocating spend into addressable TV can extend reach and improve efficiency. Using Experian-powered targeting has delivered real-world results, like helping a national cruise brand achieve a 14% lift in incremental reach, a 3.1x increase in frequency, and a 24% lower effective CPM.

4. CTV is only for younger, tech-savvy audiences

Why this misconception exists

Streaming was originally associated with younger viewers, leading advertisers to believe CTV wasn’t an effective way to reach older demographics. That impression stuck, but it’s no longer true.

What’s actually happening

Smart TVs are everywhere, and CTV has gone mainstream. Across generations, households are tuning in to ad-supported streaming services in record numbers—and they’re doing it on the biggest screens in their homes.

What ARF data shows

New research from the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) backs this up.

According to the 2024 DASH TV Universe Study:

• 77% of U.S. households own at least one Smart TV
• 82% receive at least one ad-supported streaming service
• 62% of households receive at least one ad-supported subscription streaming service (AVOD) like Netflix or Max with ads

“The audience with the highest Smart TV and ad-supported CTV adoption? Millennials and Gen Xers—Americans in their prime parenting years. Even Boomers have embraced CTV: 73% own a Smart TV and 72% receive at least one ad-supported CTV service.”

Jim Meyer, General Manager of the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) DASH TV Universe Study

ARF and Experian gives marketers the most accurate understanding of who is watching

We partnered with the ARF and its DASH universe study to create 18 TV audiences. By combining the ARF’s DASH data set with Experian Marketing Data, we developed one-of-a-kind TV audiences that reflect how viewers interact with digital devices and e-commerce accounts. We created this resource so our customers can align their marketing campaigns with media usage. These audience segments also yield insights that help marketers reach their audiences with the right messages and content.

Make CTV work for you this Upfront season

CTV is evolving fast, and advertisers who rely on outdated assumptions risk missing out on its full impact. If you’re weighing where to place your bets this Upfront season, don’t let old myths steer you off course. CTV delivers reach, performance, and accountability—especially when powered by high-quality data.

Experian helps advertisers get more from their CTV investment with household-level insights that control ad frequency and unified audience activation to maintain consistent messaging across platforms.

Let’s make your CTV campaigns work smarter. Learn how Experian can help you understand your customers, reach the right audience, and measure performance.