Connected TV (CTV) is one of the hottest channels available for advertising, with ad spending projected to reach $30.1 billion this year. However, in today's fragmented TV landscape, plenty of confusion remains around what is CTV and what is not. We're here to help. Read on to learn what separates CTV from linear TV and OTT, and gain a deeper understanding of all the acronyms surrounding this channel.
What Is CTV (and What Isn't)?
Linear TV is the traditional broadcast form of television, while CTV refers specifically to video content streamed over the internet and watched on a television. Many consumers don't distinguish between the two, but the difference is clear to most marketers.
The key to understanding what CTV is lies in understanding the more subtle difference between CTV and OTT. Short for "over the top," OTT refers to video content streamed over the internet and consumed on any device. The two terms are often used interchangeably, which is incorrect and confusing. All CTV is OTT, but not all OTT is CTV.
The common denominator is the device. CTV is viewed on the TV set, the largest screen in the household. Because computers, smartphones, and tablets have their own screens, they are inherently not CTV. OTT is the "what" (content), while CTV is the "where" (device). CTV devices include:
- Smart TVs. These sets are connected to the internet and preloaded with an operating system, programs, and apps, letting advertisers reach viewers through CTV without any additional hardware.
- Streaming devices. A streaming device plugs into a TV set and connects to the internet. Streaming devices are also preloaded with apps, enabling a regular TV to act as a smart TV. Examples include Roku, Fire TV Stick, and Chromecast.
- Gaming consoles. Nintendo Switch, Xbox, and PlayStation devices aren't just for playing video games. They also work as streaming devices connected to the TV set.
- Set-top boxes. Like a cable box, set-top boxes receive and decode broadcasts, letting viewers use their analog TV sets to stream digital content from specific providers.
Advertising on CTV: An Alphabet Soup of Acronyms
To have a strong sense of what is CTV and CTV advertising, it helps to understand the acronyms for the subcategories of OTT services:
- Ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD). AVOD platforms let users view content for free or at a reduced cost in exchange for watching advertisements. YouTube and Crackle are well-known free examples, and Netflix, Hulu, Peacock, and Paramount+ also have AVOD tiers.
- Subscription video-on-demand (SVOD). Some streaming services are premium subscription-based, meaning users pay a flat monthly rate to view content without advertisements. Apple TV is one example.
- Transactional video-on-demand (TVOD). Unlike AVOD and SVOD, TVOD works on a pay-per-view basis. Without a subscription, viewers pay for content a la carte on platforms such as Amazon or iTunes.
- Free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST). FAST apps deliver a linear TV viewing experience through connected devices. Where AVOD is one-to-one, on-demand viewing, FAST content streams live to many people at once. Samsung TV+ and Fox's Tubi are two examples.
- Virtual multichannel video programming distributor (vMVPD). CTV is to OTT as FAST is to vMVPD. Like FAST channels, vMVPDs are hubs of linear TV content, but they carry a subscription fee, similar to cable versus broadcast TV.
How CTV Advertising Works
CTV advertising runs programmatically, meaning ad space is bought and sold through an exchange in real time rather than negotiated deal by deal. A healthcare brand defines its target audience, and a demand side platform bids on impressions that match, delivering the ad mid-roll or pre-roll as someone streams a show on a smart TV or streaming device. Because CTV inventory sits inside an addressable, internet-connected environment, advertisers can set their CTV frequency caps and creative rotation with far more control than linear TV allows, and campaigns can draw on the same audience data and identity resolution used across display, audio, and other digital channels.
Why Healthcare Marketers Should Care About CTV Advertising
CTV has moved from a nice-to-have to a core part of healthcare media plans, and the reasons come down to where patients and providers actually spend their time and what the channel can prove.
Your Target Patient Population Has Moved to Streaming
Cord-cutting has reshaped viewing habits across every age group, including the older demographics healthcare brands have traditionally reached through linear TV. Patients managing chronic conditions are watching CTV alongside younger viewers, which means a media plan built only around linear TV misses a growing share of the audience a brand needs to reach.
Healthcare Ad Recall on CTV Now Leads Search and Social
CTV ads run on the biggest screen in the house, without the skip button or split attention that comes with a phone or laptop. That combination has pushed ad recall for healthcare messaging on CTV ahead of what brands typically see on search and social, giving the format an edge for campaigns built around education and awareness.
Linear TV Cannot Confirm It Reached the Right Patient
Linear TV buys are built on broad demographic estimates, with no way to confirm that an ad actually reached someone in the intended patient or provider audience. CTV advertising runs on addressable, data-driven targeting, so a brand can confirm delivery against a defined audience instead of hoping the demographics lined up.
Fair Balance Needs Attention, and CTV Consistently Delivers It
Pharma marketing carries strict requirements around fair balance and risk disclosure, and those requirements are easier to meet in a format built for full, uninterrupted video. CTV advertising supports the same long-form spot lengths as linear TV, giving brands the room they need to deliver complete safety information without cutting corners.
Rep Access Has Declined, But the Living Room Screen Is Always On
In-person access to providers has been shrinking for years, and CTV offers a way around that constraint. A provider's living room screen doesn't require an appointment, and CTV lets brands maintain a consistent presence with both HCPs and patients even as traditional face-to-face access keeps declining.
Put CTV Advertising to Work With DeepIntent
CTV advertising continues to converge with the rest of the healthcare media plan, and brands that treat it as a connected channel, rather than an isolated line item, see the strongest results. DeepIntent brings CTV together with EHR, display, audio, and other channels under one identity framework, so audience data and measurement carry across every screen a patient or provider uses.
Want to learn more about getting started with CTV advertising? Read our five tips for the first-time programmatic CTV advertiser, or schedule a demo with our team to see the platform in action.
.png)
