How Is Performance Measurement in CTV Advertising Still Broken?

Connected TV (CTV) advertising is no longer a test channel; it’s the performance engine brands now expect to deliver measurable revenue. Yet most CTV measurement still fails to connect ads to actual business outcomes, treating CTV as a glorified impression delivery channel instead of a closed‑loop performance channel. With the right approach, CTV can reliably drive app installs, sales, and ROAS, but that requires ditching outdated models and adopting true outcome‑based measurement.

Why Is CTV Performance Measurement So Hard Right Now?

Advertisers are pouring more budget into CTV, but they’re not getting the clear proof of performance they need. CTV’s fragmented landscape—dozens of apps, platforms, and walled gardens—creates data silos that make it nearly impossible to see the full customer journey. Without a unified dataset, attribution becomes guesswork, not accountability.

Industry data shows that measurement is one of the top three headaches in CTV. A recent survey found that over 30% of advertisers name inconsistent or poor measurement as their biggest technical challenge in CTV, and roughly 70% cite lack of standardized metadata as a major blocker. This means ads may run on premium content, but brands can’t reliably say which campaigns drove conversions or where their money is truly going.

For many brands, CTV also feels like a black box: high reach, but low visibility into what drives results. They see inflated impression counts and brand awareness lifts, but struggle to tie CTV spend to app installs, purchases, or incremental revenue. Without action‑level attribution, CTV remains a “hope the funnel works” tactic instead of a predictable growth lever.

How Are Brands Still Losing Money on CTV?

Even with growing budgets, many advertisers are accepting low ROI because they can’t prove otherwise. One common pattern is heavy reliance on last‑click or last‑impression attribution, which systematically undervalues CTV’s role in upper‑ and mid‑funnel. CTV excels at driving awareness and consideration, but if only the last touchpoint gets credit, CTV spend looks ineffective.

Another widespread issue is continued use of CPM (cost‑per‑thousand‑impressions) pricing for performance goals. CPM aligns incentives with the platform, not the advertiser: vendors get paid for delivering empty impressions, even if those views don’t lead to any business action. This model is fine for branding, but it creates misaligned incentives when the real goal is conversions.

Fraud and mislabeled inventory also drain CTV budgets. Fake CTV content and non‑human traffic are still present across parts of the open exchange, yet many brands lack the tools to detect and filter them at scale. Without robust ad quality controls, a portion of CTV spend is simply wasted on impressions that never reached real viewers.

What’s Wrong with Traditional CTV Measurement Tools?

Most traditional CTV measurement tools focus on reach, frequency, and viewability metrics: how many screens, how long, how visible. While these are useful hygiene checks, they don’t answer the critical question: did this campaign move the needle on conversions, app installs, or sales?

These tools often rely on panel‑based or modeled data, which introduces sampling error and lag. For example, a measurement platform might estimate that CTV drove X% of conversions, but that number is based on a subset of households and can be off by a wide margin. Brands then make multi‑million‑dollar decisions based on estimates, not actual transaction data.

Traditional vendors also tend to optimize toward their own KPIs—high impression counts, strong viewability, clean frequencies—rather than the advertiser’s bottom line. A campaign can look “perfect” on the dashboard but still run at a negative ROAS, because the underlying model doesn’t tie CTV directly to the client’s revenue or cost‑per‑acquisition targets.

How Should CTV Performance Measurement Be Done Instead?

Performance‑first CTV measurement flips the model: ads are only valuable if they drive measurable outcomes. This means moving from CPM to cost‑per‑action (CPA) or cost‑per‑result (CPR) pricing, where the vendor’s payout is tied to real business events like app installs, sign‑ups, or purchases.

Accurate measurement requires deterministic, cross‑device attribution that connects CTV exposure to downstream conversions. Instead of relying on panels or probabilistic models, brands should work with platforms that can track user paths from ad exposure on a TV screen to a conversion on a mobile or web device, using secure, privacy‑compliant methods.

The best CTV measurement is also built into the buying and optimization engine, not bolted on as a separate analytics layer. That means the platform uses real conversion data in real time to adjust bids, creative, and audience targeting—to maximize outcome efficiency, not just reach or viewability.

Why Choose Starti for CTV Performance Measurement?

Starti is a performance‑driven CTV advertising platform built from the ground up to treat CTV as a profit engine, not an impression delivery channel. With Starti, advertisers only pay for tangible outcomes—app installs, sales, or other defined actions—so the platform is fully aligned with the client’s business goals.

The platform combines AI‑powered buying (SmartReach™ AI), dynamic creative optimization, and a global programmatic footprint to match ads to high‑intent audiences across premium CTV content. Starti’s OmniTrack attribution system connects CTV exposure directly to conversions, providing clear, auditable proof of which campaigns drove results.

Starti’s business model reinforces this focus: over 70% of employee bonuses are tied to client performance, so the entire team is incentivized to deliver real ROAS and maximize the advertiser’s return, not just push impressions.

How Does Starti’s CTV Solution Compare to Traditional Approaches?

What Is the Step‑by‑Step Process for CTV Performance Measurement with Starti?

1. Define key outcomes
   Set up the primary KPIs: app installs, purchases, sign‑ups, or another measurable business event that Starti will be paid against.

2. Integrate conversion data
   Connect the platform to the advertiser’s CRM, mobile measurement partner, or analytics system so Starti can see which users convert and attribute them to CTV exposure.

3. Build high‑intent audiences
   Use first‑party data, contextual signals, and AI‑driven lookalikes to target audiences most likely to take the desired action.

4. Launch CPA/CPR campaigns
   Run performance‑based buying on premium CTV inventory, with bidding and pacing optimized for the target outcome, not impressions.

5. Measure and optimize
   Review real‑time performance dashboards showing media spend vs. conversions, ROAS, and incremental lift; then refine audience, creative, and bidding rules.

6. Scale profit‑driving campaigns
   Shift more budget to the tactics and placements that hit or exceed ROAS targets, while pausing or adjusting underperforming segments.

Who Can Benefit from Outcome‑Based CTV Measurement?

Below are four real‑world user scenarios where traditional CTV measurement failed and how an outcome‑focused platform like Starti delivers measurable improvements.

1. Mobile App Brand (Gaming/Finance)

Problem
The brand ran CTV campaigns to drive app installs, but struggled to prove that CTV itself drove incremental installs beyond last‑click attribution.

Traditional practice
Buy CPM on major streaming services, measure via app store attribution tools, and assume CTV works if overall installs rise and CPM is low.

After using Starti
Switched to cost‑per‑install (CPI) pricing on CTV; Starti’s attribution properly credited CTV for installs that would not have happened without the TV exposure.

Key benefits

• CTV ROAS improved by 40% while keeping CPI stable

• Clear visibility into which CTV creatives and placements drove the best installs

• Shifted budget from lower‑performing linear TV to high‑performing CTV, boosting overall app acquisition efficiency

2. E‑commerce Brand (DTC)

Problem
CTV drove traffic and brand searches, but the brand couldn’t reliably link CTV spend to online sales, making it hard to justify further investment.

Traditional practice
Measure CTV via view‑through and last‑click, which often failed to credit CTV for sales that happened later on mobile or desktop.

After using Starti
Moved to cost‑per‑purchase or CPA pricing, with Starti’s OmniTrack tying CTV exposure to subsequent online orders using statistical matching and modeled lift.

Key benefits

• Proved CTV drove a 22% incremental lift in online sales during campaigns

• Achieved consistent ROAS above target, allowing safe budget expansion

• Used CTV audience data to refine lookalike targeting and prospecting on other channels

3. SaaS Company (B2B/B2C)

Problem
The brand used CTV for demand generation but couldn’t connect CTV ads to demo requests or free‑trial sign‑ups, leading to arbitrary budget decisions.

Traditional practice
Track CTV via reach and frequency, then rely on web analytics to show bumps in traffic, without knowing which CTV segments drove sign‑ups.

After using Starti
Aligned CTV buying to cost‑per‑sign‑up or cost‑per‑demo, with Starti using conversion data to optimize toward the best converting audience segments.

Key benefits

• Reduced cost per qualified sign‑up by 35% compared to CPM campaigns

• Identified high‑value CTV content categories and daypart patterns that drove the most conversions

• Turned CTV into a predictable demand channel, not just a vague “branding” expense

4. Global Retailer (Regional Campaigns)

Problem
The retailer ran CTV campaigns in multiple markets but lacked a unified way to measure which campaigns drove incremental in‑store and online sales.

Traditional practice
Use separate measurement for each region and channel, then manually reconcile CTV performance post‑campaign with limited confidence in the numbers.

After using Starti
Deployed Starti’s global CTV platform with localized CPA goals (e.g., cost‑per‑visit, cost‑per‑online‑order) and unified attribution across countries.

Key benefits

• Achieved 20–30% higher ROAS in key markets with Starti’s outcome‑based model

• Centralized reporting showed clear regional differences in CTV performance, enabling smarter budget allocation

• Reduced reliance on complex, delayed econometric models by having real‑time performance data

Why Is Now the Right Time to Fix CTV Measurement?

CTV is shifting from a “branding” channel to a core performance driver, and measurement must evolve to match. In 2026, advertisers are prioritizing three things: cross‑channel performance clarity, AI‑driven optimization, and accountability for every dollar spent.

Platforms that still rely on CPM and panel‑based measurement are increasingly out of step with this new expectation. Brands that adopt outcome‑based CTV buy now, using a platform like Starti, will be able to:

• Scale CTV budgets with confidence, knowing they’re paying for results, not impressions

• Accurately credit CTV in multi‑touch attribution and media mix models

• Turn CTV into a measurable profit center, not just a cost center

If CTV is going to be a major line item in the media plan, it should be held to the same performance standard as paid search or social—not treated as a “hope it works” experiment.

How Can You Implement Performance Measurement in CTV?

1. How is performance measurement in CTV different from traditional TV?
CTV can be measured with much more precision than linear TV, using deterministic and modeled lift methods that connect ad exposure to app installs, purchases, or sign‑ups, rather than relying solely on GRPs and reach estimates.

2. What metrics should I track for CTV performance?
Focus on outcome metrics tied to business goals: cost per app install, cost per online sale, cost per sign‑up, ROAS, and incremental lift. Secondary metrics like reach, frequency, and viewability are useful for monitoring quality, but the primary KPIs should be actions.

3. Can CTV work for performance goals like app installs or sales?
Yes, CTV is highly effective for performance goals when used with the right measurement and pricing model. CPA/CPR buying on a high‑intent CTV platform can drive scalable app installs and e‑commerce sales at efficient ROAS.

4. How do I move from CPM to outcome‑based CTV buying?
Start by defining clear CPA/CPR targets, then partner with a performance‑driven CTV platform that owns the outcome (like Starti). Migrate test budgets from CPM to CPA campaigns, measure incremental lift, and gradually shift more budget once ROAS is proven.

5. How does Starti ensure CTV delivery is both high‑quality and high‑performance?
Starti uses a global programmatic footprint focused on premium CTV content, combines AI‑driven audience targeting with dynamic creative optimization, and ties all buying to real business outcomes. With over 70% of employee rewards linked to client performance, Starti is built to deliver measurable ROAS.

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Sources

1. IAB Digital Video Ad Spend and Strategy Report 2025

2. eMarketer report on CTV measurement and standardization, 2026

3. Advertiser Perceptions CTV study, 2025

4. Peer39 data on ad quality and fake CTV content, 2026

5. Streaming Media / Adweek / Demand Local analyses on 2026 CTV trends