Confusion over digital video ad terminology is slowing industry progress. The IAB's new RMT Standard aims to unify how companies define and discuss streaming inventory. Public comment is open until August.
Unclear definitions for digital video ad formats have long complicated planning, buying, and measurement for publishers, advertisers, and ad tech platforms. The IAB is now moving to address this challenge with the introduction of the Redefining Media Types (RMT) Standard, a new framework designed to bring consistency to how digital video inventory is classified and discussed across the industry.
The IAB announced the RMT Standard on Thursday, with technical specifications developed by the IAB Tech Lab. The framework is open for public comment until August 7, and a finalized version is expected later this year. The goal is to help companies across the digital video ecosystem use the same language when describing inventory, reducing confusion and improving interoperability.
The initiative was sparked by feedback from the IAB’s own video ad spend report, according to Jamie Finstein, VP of the IAB’s Media Center. Survey respondents raised questions about how terms like “CTV” were defined, and similar confusion surfaced in other IAB working groups. This led the organization to prioritize a dedicated effort to standardize terminology.
The RMT working group, which began meeting in January, includes measurement specialists, streaming product leads, chief investment officers from major holding companies, and members of the Media Rating Council. The framework is structured in two layers: “media type categories,” which organize video inventory based on audience engagement, and “operational attributes,” which detail how inventory is bought, planned, and measured.
Media type categories consider factors such as whether ads are skippable, if sound is on, and the context in which viewers encounter content-whether on a large TV, a personal device, or a public display. The same ad might appear across these environments, but the inventory and user experience differ. The working group also debated distinctions like short-form versus long-form content, ultimately concluding that the advertising opportunity is similar in both cases.
Operational attributes, meanwhile, address technical aspects such as data signals, content context, device types, and addressability. While these details are crucial for media planners, Finstein emphasized that the framework intentionally puts consumer viewing experience first, to keep industry focus on how audiences actually engage with content.
By combining both layers, the RMT Standard aims to help advertisers and publishers more accurately label and plan digital video campaigns. Finstein noted that as agentic AI becomes more involved in media buying, consistent terminology will be essential for both human and automated decision-making. This echoes concerns raised in recent coverage about automation and complexity in digital advertising, such as the risks of agentic systems rebuilding old inefficiencies, as discussed in a recent analysis of agentic advertising's challenges.
The IAB hopes that widespread adoption of the RMT Standard will reduce fragmentation and improve collaboration across the ad tech ecosystem. However, Finstein acknowledged that the impact depends on industry buy-in and adoption of the new framework.
