Connected TV (CTV) is on fire. With audiences shifting en masse from linear to streaming platforms, advertisers are pouring more budget into CTV campaigns than ever before. But there’s a glaring problem holding the industry back: a lack of show-level data.
Despite all the buzz around precision and addressability, most advertisers today still don’t know which shows their ads are actually running in. That’s not just a transparency issue—it’s a performance, brand safety, and ROI issue. And it’s costing brands real money.
The Visibility Gap: What the Data Tells Us
Recent research highlights the scale of the problem:
- Only 30% of advertisers and publishers say they have full transparency into CTV ad placements.
- More than 50% of CTV ad traffic lacks show-level metadata entirely.
- Around 27% of buyers report they rarely or never know whether their ads are running in brand-suitable content.
Instead of seeing specific shows, most marketers get data aggregated at the publisher or genre level—buckets that are far too broad for meaningful optimization or brand alignment.
Why Show-Level Data Matters More Than Ever
Let’s break down what’s really at stake when show-level visibility is missing:
Performance Optimization
In linear TV, advertisers could see which shows drove results and shift spend accordingly. In CTV, that kind of optimization is impossible without knowing where your ads actually ran. You’re targeting in the dark—and hoping for the best.
Brand Safety & Suitability
You don’t want your brand showing up in inappropriate or off-brand content. But without show-level granularity, it’s tough to enforce brand safety guidelines or avoid risky placements.
Audience Relevance
Research consistently shows that contextual relevance boosts engagement. But to align ads with context, you first need to know the context. No show-level data means no ability to match message to moment.
The Cost: Wasted Ad Spend
The consequences of this data gap are far from theoretical. Consider this:
- 1 in 3 CTV impressions may be wasted due to ads running while the TV is off.
- Brand misalignment and fraud risk increase in low-transparency environments.
- And without the ability to optimize against show performance, campaign ROI takes a hit.
In total, industry estimates suggest that a significant portion of CTV ad spend—up to one-third—is not delivering intended value.
Introducing: Dynamic CTV Curation by SceneContext
At SceneContext, we believe contextual transparency is the key to unlocking the full potential of CTV. That’s why we built Dynamic CTV Curation—our solution to the show-level data gap.
What it does:
SceneContext provides full show-level reporting, telling marketers exactly which shows their ads are running in. But we don’t stop at visibility—we help you act on it.
How it works:
Using AI-powered contextual analysis, we curate CTV inventory dynamically, optimizing for relevance, brand suitability, and performance—in real time. That means more control, smarter targeting, and no more guessing.
Why it matters:
When you know the show, you know the moment. And that leads to better alignment with your audience, higher engagement, and stronger results.
The Bottom Line
CTV is only going to get bigger. But unless we solve the show-level transparency problem, much of that growth will be undermined by inefficiencies and blind spots.
With Dynamic CTV Curation, SceneContext puts marketers back in control—bringing the clarity, performance, and safety that CTV was always meant to deliver.
Want to see it in action? Let’s talk.