Observed Signal · Dec 16, 2025 · Industry Event · Source: https://iabtechlab.com/feed/ · Impact: 3/5 · Sentiment: Positive
CTV Matures: Industry Unites for Standards and Innovation
IAB Tech Lab recapped the I Want My CTV 2025 event, emphasizing that Connected TV (CTV) has matured from experiment to a cooperative industry marketplace. Brad Pipkin, newly appointed Director of Product Management for Advanced TV at IAB Tech Lab, highlighted standards and collaboration as central themes. Panels and keynotes promoted standardization efforts — including OpenRTB, Deals API, OM SDK (v1.6 device attestation), Forecasting and Concurrent Streams APIs, and a public comment period for the CTV Ad Portfolio (opened December 11). Sessions covered new ad formats, measurement and verification challenges, edge delivery for live events, and the commercial potential of novel devices and formats (for example, Telly). Speakers urged cross-industry participation in working groups to drive interoperability, measurement integrity, and scalable programmatic monetization for future live and on-demand CTV inventory.
The event highlights industry-standardization efforts (CTV Ad Portfolio public comment, OM SDK v1.6 device attestation, Deals/Forecasting/Concurrent Streams APIs) that enable interoperability, measurement integrity, and scalable programmatic monetization—important developments but not a single platform policy change from a major platform.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- IAB Tech Lab hosted the I Want My CTV 2025 event focusing on standards and collaboration in Connected TV.
- Brad Pipkin joined IAB Tech Lab as Director of Product Management – Advanced TV and authored the recap.
- A public comment period opened on December 11 for the CTV Ad Portfolio standardization effort.
- OM SDK v1.6 introduces Device Attestation to help verify genuine CTV devices; BADBOX 2.0 reportedly infected over ten million CTV devices.
- Working groups and sessions discussed APIs and standards including OpenRTB, Deals API, Forecasting API, Concurrent Streams API, and the Ad Format signaling through the bidstream.
Connected Companies & Entities
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CTV Ad Ops Matures into Repeatable Operations
IAB Tech Lab reported at its 2026 Ad Ops Workshop for Advanced TV that Connected TV (CTV) has reached scale (projected at $29.3B in U.S. spend for 2026) and needs more mature, repeatable operating infrastructure. The workshop highlighted finalized CTV Ad Portfolio guidance (six ad formats), two delivery paths using OpenRTB/VAST and the Native API, tools and APIs for earlier creative approval and validation (Ad Management API, Next‑Gen VAST Tester), and standards for event reporting and creative identity (ECAPI, ACIF, UniversalAdID). Attendee polls showed meaningful early adoption intentions but also identified organizational and data-access barriers to measurement and identity. The Tech Lab emphasized that publishing standards is only the start — real value requires broad implementation, governance, and partner participation.
CTV Graduates: Definitions Still Matter
IAB Tech Lab argues that the Advanced TV ecosystem has matured: the OTT vs. CTV distinction now drives technical implementations, standards and commercial practice rather than purely semantic debate. Definitions influence signaling and buying logic in OpenRTB 2.6, creative and SSAI consistency in VAST 4.3, and structured transactions via AdCOM. IAB Tech Lab highlights the CTV Ad Portfolio and standardized use of OpenRTB/AdCOM, Native API and VAST to describe CTV ad units, while measurement standards (VAST 4.3, SIMID, OM SDK for CTV, ACIF Universal Ad ID) and server-to-server conversion APIs (ECAPI) aim to make measurement consistent and trusted. Live streaming and high-concurrency events remain a technical challenge (LEAP, podded bidding). The piece concludes the industry is aligned around CTV as the primary commercial focus and is now operating to scale via interoperability and standardized systems. Published 2026-05-12.
CTV Ad Formats Standardized: A New Era Begins
IAB Tech Lab's Ad Format Hero initiative standardized CTV ad formats after a year-long industry effort. More than 40 companies submitted well over 100 format examples; an Ad Format Hero Task Force grouped submissions, surveyed buyers and sellers, and narrowed the field from eight candidate formats to six final formats published as the CTV Ad Portfolio. Two candidate formats were consolidated: Immersive/Extensible Ads was treated as a feature (largely supported by SIMID) rather than a standalone format, and Ad Squeeze Back was considered an existing in-stream pod slot. The CTV Ad Portfolio and an updated CTV Programmatic Guide were published on December 11, 2025 and opened for public comment through January 31, 2026. Further work is planned to update OpenRTB, VAST, AdCOM, and SIMID signaling to enable full programmatic trading.
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