New Digital Age recently hosted a roundtable discussion in Cannes on the present and future state of CTV advertising marketplace . Among the industry experts participating were: Charlie Goodman, Head of Supply Side Ad Platform, Roku; Richard Brant, Senior Director, Advanced TV, Vevo; Chris Kleinschmidt, VP, EMEA Advertising Sales, TiVo; Ross Appleton, General Manager, Tubi; William Jones, Head of Advanced TV and Omnichannel Activation, Adform; David Goddard, Senior Vice President of Business Development, DoubleVerify; Lindsey Clay, Chief Executive, Thinkbox; Fatima Dowlet, Head of Streaming, Channel 4; Ed Wale, VP, International, LG Ad Solutions; Pippa Scaife, Director of Digital Advertising, Sky. The discussion was chaired by NDA’s Editor-in-Chief, Justin Pearse.
CTV is maturing, but are we at a turning point?
The conversation at NDA’s Cannes roundtable on CTV advertising kicked off with a fundamental question: is CTV now a mainstream part of TV advertising, and are we truly at an inflection point?
According to William Jones of Adform, “We’re in a more positive place now than ever before.” He noted the growing availability of CTV inventory and praised the impact of streaming giants entering the market. “The likes of Netflix and Disney coming into the space has really helped,” he said.
Jones also pointed to better access to better metrics like brand lift studies and attribution for incrementality, yet he acknowledged ongoing fragmentation and the need for standardisation.
But Charlie Goodman of Roku struck a more cautious tone. “The UK has the bones for things like programmatic,” he said, “but it’s still very direct IO, managed service at best.”
He argued that the market was still too fragmented and likened the current state of CTV in the UK to the US “eight years ago.”
The UK is not the US – and that’s not a bad thing
Several participants were quick to challenge the idea that the UK market is simply behind. Pippa Scaife of Sky highlighted the uniqueness of the UK broadcast ecosystem.
“We’re behind where the US is because we’re a very different market, both scale-wise and legacy broadcast-wise,” she explained. “But I think we’re well past talking about an inflection point.”
Fatima Dowlet of Channel 4 added that buyers were now thinking more holistically: “They’re not getting hung up on whether stuff is programmatically available or direct,” she said. “It’s more about how to actually reach people on TV.”
Richard Brant of Vevo agreed: “The conversation has gone from ‘CTV is this thing over here’ to just TV. Finally, can we just call it TV?”
A question of content and quality
The discussion repeatedly returned to the question of what actually counts as “TV” in the CTV era. Lindsey Clay of Thinkbox argued that the term “CTV” isn’t particularly helpful.
“What do we mean by that? Normally we mean video content on the TV set, but that can mean anything,” she said. For Clay, the distinction should come down to quality. “TV means a high-quality thing,” she said, referencing services like ITVX, Amazon Prime and Netflix.
Clay was honest in her assessment: “We do not have the measurement we deserve at the moment.”
Chris Kleinschmidt of TiVo also questioned whether the industry had yet hit its true inflection point. “We’re at the early stages still,” he said. “Digitisation is evolving quickly, but to me, the real inflection point is five to seven years away.” He pointed to the promise of platforms like Freely as potential game-changers.
Programmatic’s growing pains
Programmatic trading dominated much of the conversation. While some argued that the UK’s slower uptake reflects a lack of demand – given strong linear sales – others voiced frustration with its limitations.
Goodman was especially critical of the layering and gatekeeping within programmatic: “It’s done through layers – who sold these spots? Is that spot available? It’s still pretty disjointed.”
Jones countered that there’s progress being made through one-to-one deals with streamers and broadcasters. But he acknowledged that some managed service players contribute to fragmentation.
Planners, buyers and the true role of CTV
For Dowlet, the answer lies in understanding the role CTV plays in the broader media mix.
“Ultimately it’s about what the planner or buyer is trying to achieve.” She cautioned against forcing digital metrics onto TV buys: “Trying to pigeonhole something into something that does a completely different job doesn’t work.”
Brant echoed this: “We’re trying to force digital into TV and split it all up when it’s not ready for it.”
The danger of ignoring intentionality
Attention and intentionality were also central to the debate. Ed Wale of LG Ad Solutions argued that FAST channels, often misunderstood in the UK, have significant potential.
“Fast is just an evolution of free TV,” he said, urging the industry to focus on the strengths of the content, not just the delivery mechanism.
Ross Appleton of Tubi acknowledged that intentionality matters. “If the research shows that intentionality to view is of importance then VOD could have a higher value,” he said.
Yet Dowlet warned that many buyers still don’t fully trust FAST. “I don’t think it’s as good an environment,” she said. “With VOD, you’re there, engaged. With FAST, you can just be watching back-to-back Friends.”
Conclusion: a nuanced evolution
The discussion revealed an industry in flux – not yet in full agreement on terminology, standards or measurement, but nonetheless advancing. As Clay reminded the group, “At some point, certainly in the UK, all of TV will be delivered by the internet.”
What’s clear is that CTV – or simply TV – is not just about new technology. It’s about trust, quality, intentionality, and understanding audience behavior. While definitions may still be up for debate, the direction of travel is not.
Read Part Two of this roundtable recap.
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