Connected TV is one of the hottest sectors around, but for many brands it has remained opaque, fragmented and difficult to access. As French CTV platform Stamp formally enters the UK market, we sat down with Guillaume Tailhan-Cartier, Commercial Director, UK, about democratising premium inventory, the FAST opportunity and why transparency is still the industry’s biggest challenge.
Why Stamp, why now?
Stamp is both a technology platform and a sales house for CTV. It was launched in France three years ago with a clear mission, to democratise access to what is a highly-fragmented CTV ecosystem. The idea was to make premium CTV inventory easier to buy, and to layer in meaningful data and contextual targeting that is granular enough for most brands.
We have grown quickly in France and built direct integrations with the majority of our supply partners. That is important because it allows us to exchange data at content level. We use content categorisation data to build contextual audiences. We are not relying on ACR, which has become the norm in parts of the industry. Instead, we are working with first-party data from our direct integrations.
That gives us a high degree of granularity and enables reporting at show level. It adds a layer of transparency to CTV that is not always available when you are simply buying at app level.
Why is there a need to democratise CTV in the first place?
If you look at traditional television, you have a handful of broadcasters and a relatively small pool of large advertisers that can afford to buy those premium slots. CTV has changed the landscape. There is far more inventory, particularly with the growth of FAST channels, and viewership continues to increase as audiences fragment.
That fragmentation creates opportunity. More channels and more inventory mean more brands can access the TV screen. Our role is to open that ecosystem up and make it workable for advertisers who historically would not have considered television.
How does the platform work commercially?
Our primary revenue comes from agencies. We operate as a managed service for many of the larger agency groups, trading on their behalf. The self-serve platform is particularly suited to independent agencies, in-house trading teams and brands buying direct, including SMEs.
We are also introducing an AI agent within the platform. Agencies can paste a brief into the system and it will generate deal recommendations and activation pathways. It simplifies the process of building and activating campaigns, although it remains optional.
What has happened in France and why is the UK so strategic?
France has been a strong growth market for us, particularly over the past 18 months, with significant team expansion. However, many international budgets are controlled from London, which makes the UK strategically critical.
The UK CTV market is more mature than France, with players such as Samsung Ads and LG Ads Solutions having established sales teams. The difference is that those players are largely selling their own inventory. Our proposition is to provide a single entry point to multiple sources of premium inventory.
What is the UK growth plan?
At the moment the UK team is lean, essentially just me. We have ambitious targets for 2026 and are seeking further investment. If performance meets expectations, we intend to hire locally towards the end of the year.
In terms of entry point, we have had early success with independent agencies. Larger network agencies often require longer trading discussions and formal agreements. We are also in conversation with brands that operate in house trading desks.
Our leadership team has deep roots in European video. Co-Founder Pierre Venture is the former managing director of Kinesso in France, and the founding team previously held senior roles at Sticky Ads before its acquisition by FreeWheel. That background gives us credibility within the European TV and video ecosystem.
What are UK agencies telling you?
Many CTV offerings look similar. Agencies cite a lack of scale in parts of Europe and, crucially, a lack of transparency. Brands increasingly demand to know where budgets have been delivered. It is no longer sufficient to report at device or app level. Clients want to understand which programmes and environments carried their advertising.
The rapid growth of FAST and AVOD inventory has made this more pressing. Agencies must justify spend in environments that are not yet universally understood. Our show–level reporting addresses that need for visibility.
Measurement remains a broader industry issue, but we are fully integrated with leading measurement partners and can operate within clients’ preferred frameworks.
How do you see perceptions of FAST evolving?
There is still scepticism. FAST channels are sometimes perceived as lower quality. In reality, if you compare daytime linear schedules on broadcasters such as ITV or Channel 4 with some premium FAST programming, the gap is not as wide as assumed.
FAST environments can be highly engaged and less cluttered. If someone chooses to watch a dedicated channel, for example a 24 hour reality format stream, they are intentionally selecting that content. That can create a high attention environment.
Importantly, FAST can be both brand safe and cost effective. It provides space for advertisers that might not access prime time linear inventory, whether because of budget or brand positioning.
Is CTV enabling new types of advertiser?
Absolutely. We actively approach brands that have never considered TV. CTV combines the attention and premium environment of the television screen with digital style targeting and controls.
It mirrors the early days of digital advertising in that it expands access. Smaller or emerging brands can now reach TV audiences with precision and transparency. That is the most exciting aspect of this evolution.
As Stamp builds its UK presence, the ambition is clear, to reposition CTV, and particularly FAST, not as a secondary option but as a scalable, transparent and accessible extension of the television ecosystem.
