The Future of Advertising: Why CTV is Dominating Programmatic Media Buying

The Rise of Cord-Cutters and CTV Adoption Rates (2024 Stats) The shift in consumer behavior from traditional linear television to Connected TV (CTV) has reached an inflection point. As of 2024, over 90 million U.S. households have officially “cut the cord,” opting for streaming platforms like Hulu, Netflix, YouTube TV, and others. With smart TVs becoming more affordable and internet speeds continuing to improve nationwide, audiences are embracing the convenience and control offered by streaming environments.

Advertisers are taking notice. According to eMarketer, CTV ad spend is expected to surpass $30 billion in 2025, nearly tripling its 2020 numbers. The migration toward CTV not only reflects a fundamental change in how content is consumed but also a massive opportunity for brands to engage viewers where they’re most attentive and active.

How CTV Bridges the Gap Between Linear TV and Digital Precision Linear TV offered scale, but it lacked precision. Digital advertising brought granular targeting, but it often missed the impact and immersive nature of TV. CTV combines the best of both. It allows brands to deliver high-impact video ads on the largest screen in the household—while layering in digital-style targeting powered by first-party data and real-time bidding.

With CTV, advertisers can serve personalized messages based on household demographics, behavioral data, or viewing history. This means less waste, better engagement, and more measurable outcomes. Unlike linear TV, where measurement is often modeled or inferred, CTV offers immediate insights into viewability, completion rates, and even post-ad behavior.

PGAM Media’s SSP/DSP Infrastructure for CTV Optimization At PGAM Media, we’ve built a next-generation infrastructure specifically designed to maximize the power of CTV. Our unified SSP and DSP platform streamlines the transaction process, eliminating unnecessary intermediaries and enabling advertisers to access premium CTV inventory with complete transparency.

We leverage AI-driven algorithms that analyze dozens of performance signals—including time of day, content type, device ID, and user engagement metrics—to dynamically optimize bids in real time. Our platform ensures every impression is valued appropriately, and budgets are directed toward placements that drive the highest ROI.

On the supply side, publishers benefit from increased fill rates, higher CPMs, and tighter control over which advertisers can access their inventory. On the demand side, buyers enjoy simplified campaign setup, enhanced visibility, and lower tech tax through our single-stack architecture.

Why CTV Is the Future of Advertising The transition to CTV isn’t a passing trend—it’s the new norm. As audiences continue to move away from traditional formats, brands must follow suit or risk losing relevance. CTV empowers marketers with the tools to deliver brand-safe, high-impact, data-driven campaigns that meet audiences where they are.

For advertisers, the future of programmatic media buying is not just about reach—it’s about relevance, measurement, and efficiency. CTV delivers on all fronts, and PGAM Media is leading the charge with a future-ready platform that’s built for performance.

Stay tuned as we dive deeper into topics like AI optimization, brand safety, attribution, and first-party data in the rest of our PGAM Media blog series.