👋 Hello media misfits!

Hope your Q3 plans are as tight as your programmatic bids. Because while you were still pretending to care about Meta’s latest AI update, the rest of the industry quietly decided CTV isn’t just hot… it’s scorching.

Mediaocean’s 2025 H2 Market Report just dropped, and spoiler alert: CTV is no longer the side hustle of your media mix.

It’s the main event.

CTV: From Pilot to Powerhouse

58% of marketers are ramping up their CTV budgets in the second half of 2025. That’s not a test. That’s a takeover.

And it’s not just because everyone finally figured out how to target the bloke watching Love Island on his smart fridge. It’s because CTV now delivers what marketers have been begging for since the Mad Men era:

  • Cross-platform reach without a linear hangover

  • Granular targeting without wading through cookie rubble

  • Performance measurement that doesn’t involve a sacrificial goat

It’s All About Precision, Darling

CTV isn’t playing the reach game anymore. It’s gone from “spray and pray” to “sniper at dawn.”
The new vibe? Outcomes > eyeballs.

Marketers want:

  • 📊 Targeted impressions with receipts

  • 🎨 Creative versioning that actually speaks to different segments

  • 🤖 AI-powered decisioning that doesn’t require a PhD in predictive modelling

And speaking of AI…

GenAI Is the New Ad Ops Intern (But Smarter)

72% of marketers now rank generative AI as a top priority.
Why? Because GenAI is doing everything except your coffee run:

  • Writing copy

  • Testing creative variants

  • Optimising media plans

  • And yes, quietly judging your outdated tagging framework

Bonus points if you're already integrating GenAI into both creative workflows and campaign ops. If not, well… enjoy your weekly crisis meetings about underperforming pre-rolls.

Identity Crisis? Try Multi-ID Therapy

With third-party cookies crumbling faster than your agency’s Friday morale, marketers are finally embracing multi-ID strategies like it’s a new religion.

The goal?

🚫 No more ad fatigue.
✅ Smarter cross-platform frequency control.
🎯 Attribution that actually makes sense in a converged video ecosystem.

CTV isn’t an island anymore. It’s the anchor of omnichannel. And if you’re not planning campaigns that speak to users across screens, platforms, and personalities, then you’re just… watching telly.

Modernise or Die (Sorry Not Sorry)

Marketers are reengineering their tech stacks like it’s 1999 but with less denim and more dashboards.
Legacy tools? Binned.
Frankenstein tag setups? Burned at the stake.
Data connectivity and outcome-based activation? In.

This isn’t about buying CTV for the sake of it. It’s about owning your ecosystem, not renting it from a walled garden who ghosted your support ticket three months ago.

The Takeaway?

CTV isn’t emerging—it’s emerged, moisturised, and ready to monetise.

For Agencies and Buyers:

  • Shift budget to CTV now. Not next quarter. Now.

  • Embed GenAI across creative and ops or get left behind by a robot with better ideas.

  • Manage identity like your job depends on it—because it probably does.

CTV’s not the future.
It’s the feed.
And it’s coming for your budget.

Programmatic video? That’s cute. This is grown-up telly with receipts.