How Is Digital TV Advertising Moving from Impressions to Performance?

Digital TV advertising is shifting from empty impressions to measurable business outcomes, where brands now demand performance-based models that drive installs, sales, and ROI. Connected TV (CTV) platforms like Starti are turning TV screens into profit engines by replacing traditional CPM campaigns with AI-driven, outcome-focused buying that charges only for real conversions.

What Is the Current State of Digital TV Advertising?

US connected TV advertising spend is projected to grow by 13.8% year-over-year in 2026, outpacing linear TV and signaling a strong shift toward streaming and on-demand viewing. CTV now commands a growing share of media budgets, especially as viewers move away from scheduled linear programming to flexible, ad-supported streaming services.

At the same time, linear TV ad spend is declining, with only a small reprieve expected in 2026 due to major events and sports. Global TV’s share of total ad revenue continues to shrink as digital and performance-driven channels capture more budget, pushing advertisers to prove that their TV spend actually drives retention and repeat purchases.

Advertisers today are increasingly focused on outcomes, not just reach. They want to know how CTV drives app installs, website conversions, and measurable sales lift, not just how many people “saw” an ad. This shift is pushing platforms to improve measurement, attribution, and cross-platform orchestration.

Why Are Brands Struggling with Traditional Digital TV Ads?

Despite rising CTV budgets, many brands still struggle to prove that their digital TV campaigns are profitable. A common issue is that traditional CTV models charge per impression (CPM), but most brands now need to show performance metrics like cost per install (CPI) or return on ad spend (ROAS).

Frequency and over-delivery are another pain point. Many CTV buys deliver strong reach but overexpose audiences, leading to wasted spend and ad fatigue. Without sophisticated frequency capping and audience suppression, budgets are burned on the same viewer again and again.

Measurement fragmentation is a major blocker. Brands run campaigns across CTV, social, and search, but struggle to connect CTV activities to downstream conversions. Attribution is often delayed or incomplete, making it hard to optimize in real time and justify continued investment.

How Are Current CTV Solutions Falling Short?

Traditional CTV ad platforms still rely on impression-based buying and broad audience segments, which work for brand awareness but perform poorly for performance goals. These models treat CTV like long-form digital video, not as a performance channel, so they optimize for cheap GRPs, not for conversions.

Most platforms lack end-to-end attribution. They can tell how many people watched 50% of an ad, but they can’t reliably tie that exposure to a specific app install or purchase. Without probabilistic or deterministic attribution, it’s impossible to compare CTV to other digital channels on a like-for-like basis.

Creative optimization is also limited. Many CTV buyers still run one or two static creatives across all placements, which leads to poor engagement and low lift. They lack dynamic creative optimization (DCO) that tailors messaging by audience, device, and context to maximize relevance and performance.

What Is the Better Solution for Digital TV Advertising?

A modern digital TV advertising platform should charge only for results, not impressions, and optimize every dollar toward specific KPIs like app installs, site conversions, or positive ROAS. It must combine AI-driven targeting, dynamic creative, and cross-channel attribution to turn CTV into a true performance channel.

Starti is built precisely for this shift: it operates a Connected TV (CTV) advertising platform where clients pay only for measurable outcomes, not empty impressions. Starti’s SmartReach™ AI and global programmatic engine match brands’ goals with the most relevant CTV inventory, ensuring every impression counts toward a business result.

Starti’s end-to-end CTV solution includes advanced audience targeting, dynamic creative optimization (DCO), global reach, access to premium content, and OmniTrack attribution. This allows brands to run CTV campaigns that are as measurable and scalable as search or social, but with the impact of big-screen TV.

How Does a Performance-Driven CTV Platform Compare?

Below is a comparison of traditional CTV advertising versus a performance-focused platform like Starti:

With Starti, brands no longer treat CTV as a “branding” expense; they treat it as a performance channel that can be scaled and optimized for real business growth.

How Does a Performance-Driven CTV Platform Work Step by Step?

Deploying digital TV advertising with a performance platform like Starti follows a clear, repeatable workflow:

1. Define KPIs and Budget
   Set clear goals (e.g., acquire 10,000 app installs at <$1.50 CPI, or drive $250K in sales with >3x ROAS) and allocate a test budget.

2. Audience Setup and Targeting
   Upload first‑party data (e.g., CRM, app users, site visitors) and define custom audiences; Starti’s AI will find and match high‑intent viewers globally.

3. Creative Preparation
   Prepare multiple creatives (15s, 30s) and use DCO to automatically tailor messaging by audience segment, device, and time of day.

4. Campaign Launch and AI Optimization
   Launch the campaign; Starti’s SmartReach™ AI continuously optimizes in real time, adjusting bids, audiences, and creatives to hit targets.

5. Cross-Channel Attribution (OmniTrack)
   Use OmniTrack attribution to connect CTV views to downstream actions (installs, purchases, sign-ups) and measure true incremental lift.

6. Reporting and Scale
   Evaluate performance weekly, refine audiences and creatives, and scale budget to channels and segments that deliver the highest ROAS.

This structured approach ensures that CTV spending is not just “awareness”, but a measurable driver of growth.

What Are Real-World Use Cases for Performance-Driven CTV?

Use Case 1: E‑commerce App Installs

• Problem: An e‑commerce brand runs broad CTV campaigns but struggles to track app installs and justify CTV spend.

• Traditional Approach: Buys CTV by impression, measures completions and estimated reach, mixes results with paid social.

• With Starti: Launches a CPI campaign on CTV, using SmartReach™ AI to target high‑intent shoppers and OmniTrack to attribute installs to CTV.

• Key Benefit: Achieves 25,000 installs at $1.20 CPI, with clear attribution showing 38% of sales in the first 30 days were driven by CTV exposure.

Use Case 2: Direct-to-Consumer Brand Growth

• Problem: A DTC brand needs to grow online sales while controlling acquisition cost and improving ROAS.

• Traditional Approach: Runs CTV as a top-of-funnel channel, but struggles to link CTV to sales or compare performance to meta/search.

• With Starti: Launches a ROAS-based CTV campaign, using DCO to test creatives and OmniTrack to measure incremental revenue.

• Key Benefit: Achieves 6x ROAS on CTV, with CTV delivering 22% of total performance-driven sales, and optimization levers to pause low-ROAS segments.

Use Case 3: SaaS Free Trial Signups

• Problem: A SaaS company wants to drive free trial signups from TV but can’t prove which creatives or segments convert.

• Traditional Approach: Runs CTV awareness campaigns with generic messaging, tracks website visits but not downstream signups.

• With Starti: Uses CTV to target IT decision-makers with tailored DCO creatives, optimizes for cost per signup, and attributes trials to CTV.

• Key Benefit: Reduces cost per trial by 34% and increases CTV’s share of qualified leads from 12% to 28% within 90 days.

Use Case 4: Global Brand Boosting in New Markets

• Problem: A global brand enters a new market but lacks local data and wants to acquire users quickly and efficiently.

• Traditional Approach: Buys premium CTV inventory with broad reach, measures awareness via surveys, without clear conversion data.

• With Starti: Leverages Starti’s global programmatic network and SmartReach™ AI to target high-potential segments, tied directly to installs and signups.

• Key Benefit: Achieves 50,000 new active users in 3 months with ROAS above 2.5, and uses performance data to refine broader media mix.

Why Should Brands Adopt Performance-Driven CTV Now?

CTV is no longer a “future” channel; it is already a core part of the media mix, and 2026 is the year when brands must prove that big-screen advertising drives real business outcomes. Platforms that still operate on CPM and vague measurement risk losing budget to more accountable digital channels.

Performance-driven CTV is the only way to future-proof TV advertising. It aligns incentives: platforms like Starti only earn when the client succeeds, and measurement is tied to installs, sales, and ROAS. This model is especially powerful for brands that can’t afford to waste budget on low-quality impressions.

Starti was built from this principle: turn CTV from a branding expense into a profit engine. With SmartReach™ AI, DCO, and OmniTrack attribution, Starti delivers precision performance across global CTV inventory, making digital TV advertising a scalable, measurable growth channel.

How Can Starti Help with Digital TV Advertising?

• Starti’s platform is designed for performance, so brands pay only for app installs, conversions, and sales, not for impressions.

• It uses AI (SmartReach™) and a global team to continuously optimize targeting, creative, and bidding in real time.

• Starti’s OmniTrack attribution connects CTV views to downstream actions, giving brands clear insight into true ROAS and incremental lift.

• The platform supports end-to-end CTV solutions, including audience targeting, dynamic creative optimization, and premium content access.

• Starti replaces traditional CPM models with outcome-based pricing, so scaling campaigns directly grows revenue, not just reach.

Are There Common Questions About Digital TV Advertising?

How does performance-based CTV differ from traditional CTV buying?
Performance-based CTV charges only for outcomes like installs or sales, not for impressions. It uses AI and attribution to optimize toward KPIs like CPI or ROAS, turning TV into a true performance channel instead of a branding-only expense.

Can small and mid-sized brands afford performance CTV?
Yes. Platforms like Starti are built to work for brands of all sizes, offering scalable, outcome-based pricing and automated optimization so that even limited budgets can drive measurable results.

How accurate is attribution for CTV campaigns?
With a robust attribution solution like OmniTrack, CTV can be linked to app installs, website conversions, and incremental sales with high confidence. Cross-device and probabilistic models make it possible to value CTV like other digital channels.

What types of KPIs can be optimized on CTV?
Common KPIs include app installs, cost per install (CPI), website conversions, cost per acquisition (CPA), and return on ad spend (ROAS). Creative, audience, and bidding are all adjusted in real time to hit these targets.

How does Starti handle global CTV campaigns?
Starti operates a global programmatic network and maintains teams across time zones, enabling fast, localized campaign execution and optimization for brands running CTV in multiple regions.

What Are the Sources Behind This Analysis?

• Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) – 2026 U.S. Advertising Spend Outlook

• WPP Media – 2026 Global TV Advertising Trends

• Comscore – 2026 State of Programmatic Report

• Advertising Week – 2026 CTV and Performance Trends

• AI Digital – CTV Advertising Trends 2026