Connected TV, often shortened to CTV, is any television experience that can access the internet in order to stream digital content. If you can open apps like Netflix, YouTube, Disney Plus, or Twitch directly on your television screen or through a device plugged into that television, you are using Connected TV.
CTV is not only smart televisions. It also includes streaming boxes, streaming sticks, and even game consoles that run streaming apps. In other words, CTV describes the delivery method, not just the hardware.
Connected TV matters to marketers because it has turned the largest screen in the home into a digital channel with measurable reach, real targeting, and trackable outcomes.
A Connected TV is any television or any device attached to a television that connects to the internet in order to deliver streaming video, interactive apps, music, and other online content.
You do not need a brand new smart television to have CTV. If the television can reach streaming content over the internet, either on its own or through an attached device, it is part of the Connected TV ecosystem.
There are three common types of Connected TV devices.
Smart TV
A Smart TV is a television with built in internet connectivity and its own app store. You can stream shows, movies, live channels, music, and browse content without attaching any extra hardware. Most modern televisions from major manufacturers work this way.
Streaming device or streaming stick
Also called over the top devices. These are small boxes or plug in sticks that attach to almost any television, usually through HDMI, and bring streaming capability to it. Popular examples include streaming sticks and small set top devices. After setup, the television can run apps like a Smart TV even if it is an older screen.
Gaming console
Game consoles are not sold as streaming devices first, but they behave like one. Consoles such as Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch connect to the internet, have app stores, and can run major streaming apps. If you are watching Netflix through a console on your living room television, that is Connected TV viewing.
If you are watching streaming video on a large television through any of these paths, you are in a Connected TV environment.
CTV advertising refers to ad placements that run inside Connected TV environments. These ads can appear in several contexts.
The creative unit is usually high quality video on a full screen. That alone makes CTV feel closer to classic television than to a small banner ad on a phone.
But the buying model and the measurement are digital. That is the important difference.
CTV advertising can be planned, bought, targeted, optimized, and measured using digital style data rather than old school broadcast estimates. That changes how marketers think about television.
CTV is attractive both to performance marketers and to brand advertisers. Here is why.
Data driven targeting
Traditional broadcast television buys an audience using broad demographics such as adults 18 to 49. Connected TV can use first party and third party data to reach very specific audiences. For example, frequent travelers, new homeowners, sports bettors, parents of toddlers, car shoppers in a certain price tier, and so on. This allows marketers to spend money on the viewers who are most valuable, instead of paying for everyone watching a channel at that time.
Higher attention and higher completion rates
Many CTV ad units cannot be skipped easily. Viewers are often sitting down to intentionally watch long form content on a big screen with sound on. That is very different from a muted scroll on a mobile feed. Attention is higher, recall is higher, and the ad experience feels more like premium television media.
Lower wasted spend compared to traditional TV
Buying traditional TV can be expensive and inflexible. You pay for a wide audience even if you only care about a slice of it. You often commit upfront. With CTV, advertisers can often access TV style inventory at lower total cost while getting better reporting and tighter control. You can adjust targeting and creatives much faster.
Measurable impact
Marketers can connect CTV exposure to downstream actions. For example, app installs, site visits, searches for the brand, or even add to cart events. That level of attribution has never really existed in classic television.
This is why CTV has become a natural extension of both mobile campaigns and brand campaigns. You get the storytelling power of television and the accountability of digital.
It looks like TV to the viewer. It behaves like digital media to the marketer.
In short, CTV is closing the gap between performance marketing and television scale.
CTV is used for three main goals.
Awareness and storytelling
Brands use Connected TV to run cinematic creative on a large screen and build familiarity. This is the modern version of prime time television, but without having to buy a national television spot.
Retargeting and re engagement
Some marketers retarget known audiences on Connected TV. For example, people who visited a product page but did not buy might later see a Connected TV ad reminding them of a limited time offer.
Acquisition and measurable lift
Growth teams run CTV and then measure the lift in site visits, branded search, app installs, or trials in the minutes or hours after exposure. You can test creative and scale what works, similar to how you would scale a paid social campaign, but on a living room screen.
Connected TV is any television viewing experience that is delivered through the internet rather than through traditional broadcast or cable
CTV includes Smart TVs, streaming boxes and sticks, and modern game consoles
CTV advertising allows brands to run video ads inside those environments with digital style targeting and reporting
CTV gives marketers premium attention, measurable impact, and often lower wasted spend compared to traditional television buying
As viewing habits shift from scheduled cable to streaming on demand, Connected TV is becoming one of the core paid channels for awareness, engagement, and even performance
Connected TV refers to television screens that can access internet delivered content directly or through an attached device. If you are streaming instead of watching traditional broadcast or cable, you are in a Connected TV environment.
Not exactly. A Smart TV is a television with built in internet and apps. Connected TV is a broader idea that includes Smart TVs but also includes any older television that is connected to the internet through a streaming stick or a console. All Smart TVs are Connected TVs. Not all Connected TVs are Smart TVs.
OTT stands for over the top. It refers to content that is delivered over the internet rather than through a cable or satellite provider. Connected TV is usually seen as the physical device or experience in the living room where you watch that OTT content. In practice, people sometimes use the two terms as if they are the same.
Ads can run before a show or movie starts, in the middle as short ad breaks, at the end of the content, or even on the interface while the viewer is browsing what to watch next. Many of these ads cannot be skipped which means higher completion rates.
With traditional TV you mostly buy broad demographics. With CTV you can target niche audiences using interest data, past browsing or purchase data, and location data. This lets you spend money only where it is most likely to move results.
In many cases yes. You can often reach TV sized audiences without paying classic broadcast prices, while also gaining digital style measurement and optimization. That said, premium content on major streaming services can still be priced at a premium.
Yes. With proper attribution and analytics, brands can connect CTV exposure to outcomes such as site visits, add to cart events, app installs, or sign ups. This is why performance marketers are now buying Connected TV in addition to mobile and social.