Advertisers on connected TV can now see detailed show-level ad performance. New integrations enable live optimization and greater transparency. This shift could reshape how brands allocate CTV budgets.
For digital media and publishing professionals focused on monetization and campaign performance, a major barrier in connected TV (CTV) advertising has been the lack of granular, show-level data. Historically, streaming platforms offered only broad content categories or limited post-campaign reporting, often identifying the specific show for just 10% to 15% of impressions, according to David Nyurenberg, SVP of digital at InterMedia Advertising.
Recent integrations between ad tech providers and streaming platforms are now changing that. Companies like Peer39 and Pontiac Intelligence have developed solutions that use anonymized content IDs from publishers to match ad impressions to specific shows. This allows advertisers to break down cost per acquisition (CPA) by show and feed those insights directly into demand-side platforms (DSPs) for real-time budget optimization. In a recent campaign for the detergent brand Laundry Sauce, InterMedia reported achieving show-level reporting for 94% of impressions using this approach.
Nyurenberg described the impact of receiving a detailed spreadsheet with CPA data for individual shows as a breakthrough, especially when those insights could be used to optimize campaigns while they were still running. He noted that similar solutions are being adopted by other programmatic tech providers, suggesting that comprehensive show-level data may soon become standard for CTV buyers.
The core of this solution is Peer39’s integration with streaming publishers, which ingests unique content IDs for each program airing an ad. Peer39 then matches these IDs to specific shows without exposing any individual user or household data, maintaining compliance with privacy regulations such as the Video Privacy Protection Act. The supply-side platform (SSP) passes the content ID in bid requests to the Pontiac DSP, which then tracks ad spend and performance outcomes, such as site visits or purchases, using embedded tracking pixels. This data enables the DSP’s optimization engine to prioritize inventory that delivers better results.
Peer39’s universal data ingestion model authenticates content regardless of the type of content-level signal provided by the publisher. Erik Thorson, CTO and co-founder of Pontiac Intelligence, said that publisher transparency varies widely, but standardized and anonymized signals allow for safe targeting and optimization. Publishers benefit by demonstrating the true value of their inventory, while advertisers gain much greater transparency than with self-declared show-level data. Peer39 reported discovering that a significant portion of ad spend labeled as documentary programming was actually running on a streaming network’s Yule log, highlighting the value of accurate content signals.
In practice, these content-level signals have proven valuable for mid-flight optimization. During the Laundry Sauce campaign, InterMedia was able to analyze spend and performance across networks, individual shows, and content categories. The data revealed that ad performance could vary by as much as four times between different CTV programming categories. After feeding CPA data into the live campaign, add-to-cart conversions increased by 64%, and the optimized impressions generated a 2.5x higher page-view-to-add-to-cart conversion rate.
While the Laundry Sauce campaign was a closed beta, both Peer39 and Pontiac have made the solution available for broader testing. Nyurenberg also observed that other programmatic tech providers, including Viant, IRIS.tv, and Beeswax, are embedding content data into buy-side decisioning through similar frameworks. This suggests that show-level data is poised to move from post-campaign reporting to actively shaping every bidding decision in CTV buying.
For those interested in the broader implications of automation and transparency in digital advertising, related discussions can be found in coverage of how agentic advertising may replicate programmatic’s intermediary challenges, as explored in this analysis of automation’s impact on ad sales complexity.
