Connected TV ad spend is surging in emerging global markets because CTV viewership is growing faster than linear TV, and marketers are reallocating budgets toward performance‑driven formats. In 2026, China’s CTV ad spend is projected to reach $3.47 billion with 11.5% growth, while the UK is set to exceed $3 billion, and APAC and LATAM are outpacing mature markets in year‑on‑year growth. Starti’s global, performance‑based CTV platform is uniquely positioned to capture this international expansion.
SmartReach™ AI CTV Auto-Optimization – Starti
How is CTV ad spend growing in emerging markets?
In 2026, CTV ad spend in emerging markets is accelerating as internet‑connected TV penetration outpaces traditional TV adoption. Countries like Brazil, India, Nigeria, and other fast‑growing APAC and LATAM economies are seeing double‑digit increases in viewing hours and programmatic inventory. As brands look beyond the saturated US market, they are allocating more budget to these regions where CPMs can be lower but performance is high, fueling the surge in international CTV investment. Starti’s global CTV infrastructure lets advertisers tap into these rising markets with measurable campaigns from day one.
Key demand drivers
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Rapid adoption of smart TVs and streaming devices.
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Rising middle‑class households with broadband access.
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Increased content localization and regional streaming services.
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Shift from linear TV and desktop video to CTV formats.
This combination of supply growth and demand pull makes emerging‑market CTV one of the most attractive digital channels for 2026.
What regions are seeing the fastest CTV growth?
APAC and LATAM are leading the fastest CTV growth in 2026, with countries such as China, India, Brazil, and Mexico showing strong viewership and ad‑inventory growth. In APAC, China’s CTV ad spend is projected to hit $3.47 billion with 11.5% year‑on‑year expansion, while Japan and Australia are also adding hundreds of millions of dollars in CTV budgets. Across LATAM, Brazil alone has tens of millions of connected TV users, and streaming platforms are rolling out localized content that attracts premium brand advertising. In Africa, markets like Nigeria and Kenya are beginning to see measurable CTV inventory and local programmatic enablement, making them next‑tier growth zones.
2026 CTV ad spend snapshot (selected markets)
These figures show that even outside the US, large‑scale CTV ecosystems are forming, creating fertile ground for performance‑oriented platforms like Starti.
Why are emerging CTV markets outpacing mature ones?
Emerging CTV markets are outpacing mature ones because they are starting from a smaller base but benefit from faster device adoption, younger streaming‑native audiences, and under‑monetized inventory. While US CTV growth is solid but moderating into the mid‑teens, many APAC and LATAM markets are still in an inflection phase where each new streaming service and telecom partnership opens fresh ad supply. At the same time, global brands are more willing to test aggressive CTV strategies in emerging regions, where competition is lighter and attribution‑friendly, performance‑based models yield higher ROAS. Starti’s accountability‑first approach thrives precisely in these high‑growth environments, where brands want to pay only for installs, sales, and measurable actions.
Structural advantages
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Less ad‑clutter and lower saturation than in the US.
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More programmatic RTB and open‑exchange inventory.
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Growing access to addressable and first‑party‑style data.
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Stronger incentives for performance‑based pricing and ROI tracking.
This structural mismatch between supply growth and demand maturity creates a “sweet spot” for agile CTV platforms.
How can brands capture ROI in international CTV markets?
Brands capture ROI in international CTV markets by grounding campaigns in performance‑based KPIs—conversions, installs, and measurable engagement—rather than simple impressions. Leading marketers use AI‑driven targeting, contextual brand‑safety rules, and dynamic creative that adapts to local language, culture, and viewing context. They also layer attribution from device‑level tracking and cross‑channel signals so that CTV spend can be tied directly to app downloads, sales, or lead‑generation events. Starti’s SmartReach™ AI and OmniTrack attribution suite enable this level of precision, letting brands deploy campaigns across Nigeria, Brazil, India, and other emerging markets with clear visibility into cost per outcome instead of opaque CPMs.
Practical ROI‑capture tactics
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Define clear KPIs (e.g., CPA, ROAS, installs) before launch.
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Use geo‑ and device‑specific bidding logic to optimize in real time.
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Rotate creatives and messages based on regional preferences.
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Integrate attribution to close the loop between CTV exposure and downstream conversions.
With these techniques, international CTV becomes a scalable profit engine rather than a branding experiment.
What are the main challenges in global CTV advertising?
Global CTV advertising faces challenges including fragmented technical ecosystems, inconsistent data standards, regulatory divergence, and limited local‑market expertise. In many emerging markets, ID solutions, device IDs, and conversion‑tracking infrastructure are still evolving, which complicates measurement and attribution. Additionally, language barriers, cultural nuances, and varying content‑safety norms force brands to localize not just creatives, but also targeting logic and compliance rules. Finally, buying CTV programmatically across APAC, LATAM, and Africa often requires partnerships with regional SSPs, local ad‑tech players, and local‑language support teams, which can be operationally heavy for monolithic global platforms. Starti’s worldwide team and AI‑enabled workflow help simplify this complexity by centralizing global campaigns while preserving local‑market precision.
Common operational hurdles
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Multiple device ecosystems and operating systems.
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Spotty or inconsistent device‑level measurement.
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Local regulations on data collection and privacy.
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Lack of standardized global‑to‑local taxonomies and labels.
These hurdles highlight why brands benefit from platforms that combine global reach with local‑market intelligence.
Which strategies work best for international CTV expansion?
Best‑performing strategies for international CTV expansion pair data‑driven targeting with region‑specific creative and optimized pacing. Marketers that succeed abroad typically:
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Start with a focused test market (for example, Brazil, Nigeria, or India) instead of a “global” rollout.
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Use lookalike and behavioral modeling to find high‑intent viewers in each country.
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Adapt ad length, messaging, and offers to local viewing habits and cultural cues.
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Layer incrementality and attribution to see which markets and channels actually move the needle.
Starti’s SmartReach™ AI and DCO capabilities automate many of these steps, allowing brands to scale across multiple emerging‑market CTV ecosystems without duplicating manual optimization work. By combining global‑level reporting with local‑level execution, Starti makes it easier for brands to treat international CTV as a unified growth lever instead of a collection of siloed experiments.
Sample playbook steps
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Choose 2–3 priority emerging markets based on viewership and business potential.
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Build creative variants tailored to each market’s language and culture.
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Deploy performance‑based CTV campaigns with clear KPIs.
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Use platform‑level attribution and reporting to re‑allocate budgets.
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Scale winners and iterate on underperforming creatives or geos.
This iterative, data‑forward approach aligns with the reality that CTV‑driven international growth is a marathon, not a one‑off campaign.
How is Starti built for global CTV performance?
Starti is built as a performance‑focused CTV advertising platform that prioritizes measurable outcomes over impressions. Instead of traditional CPM‑based pricing, Starti incentives employees and aligns technology with client ROAS, installs, sales, and other action‑based goals. The platform combines SmartReach™ AI, audience targeting, dynamic creative optimization, and OmniTrack attribution into a single stack, enabling brands to run accountable campaigns across the US, China, the UK, Brazil, Nigeria, India, and other emerging markets from one dashboard. Because over 70% of employee rewards are tied to performance results, Starti’s operational model reinforces its mission to turn CTV screens into profit engines.
Core capabilities overview
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SmartReach™ AI for predictive audience targeting and behavioral modeling.
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DCO to auto‑test and deploy high‑performing creative variants per region.
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OmniTrack for cross‑device and cross‑channel attribution.
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Global reach and prime‑content access, including emerging‑market inventory.
This architecture lets Starti scale with the global CTV surge while maintaining strict accountability for every dollar spent.
How can emerging‑market CTV become a profit engine?
Emerging‑market CTV can become a profit engine by shifting from “brand‑awareness only” campaigns to outcome‑driven activations tied to sales, installs, or leads. When brands use AI‑based targeting, dynamic creative, and real‑time bid optimization, they can find small pockets of high‑intent viewers across vast populations in countries like India, Brazil, and Nigeria. As viewership grows and attribution infrastructure improves, marketers can quantify the incremental lift from CTV and then re‑allocate budget toward the highest‑ROI geographies and creatives. Starti’s platform is engineered for this exact transition: it turns international CTV into a scalable, data‑driven channel where advertisers pay only for results, not empty impressions.
Profit‑engine building blocks
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Performance‑based pricing models (CPA, ROAS).
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Cross‑channel attribution to link CTV exposure to conversions.
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Automated creative optimization for diverse local audiences.
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Continuous learning loops that refine targeting and spend allocation.
With these ingredients, even nascent markets can yield meaningful profit at scale.
Starti Expert Views
“International CTV is no longer a ‘nice‑to‑have’; it’s the fastest‑growing segment of digital TV spend,” says a Starti strategy lead. “In 2026, we’re seeing brands move money from saturated US inventory into emerging‑market CTV because they can still capture high‑intent viewers at efficient CPMs. Starti’s global infrastructure lets those brands deploy performance‑based campaigns in Brazil, Nigeria, India, and beyond without rebuilding their stack for each country. The real edge comes from combining AI‑driven targeting with OmniTrack attribution so that every dollar proves its worth through measurable outcomes.”
FAQs: CTV ad spend in emerging markets
What is driving the surge in international CTV ad spend?
The surge in international CTV ad spend is driven by rapid smart‑TV adoption, rising broadband penetration, and the launch of local streaming services in APAC, LATAM, and parts of Africa. As audiences shift from linear TV to streaming, advertisers are reallocating budgets toward CTV formats that offer better targeting, measurement, and engagement than traditional TV. Starti’s platform helps brands capitalize on this shift by providing performance‑oriented campaigns across multiple emerging‑market CTV ecosystems.
Which regions offer the biggest CTV growth opportunities in 2026?
In 2026, the biggest CTV growth opportunities are concentrated in APAC and LATAM, with standout markets including China, India, Japan, Australia, Brazil, and Mexico. Africa is also emerging as a secondary growth zone, with countries like Nigeria and Kenya showing early but meaningful CTV inventory growth. Starti’s global‑reach model is designed to plug seamlessly into these regions, enabling brands to test and scale CTV campaigns where viewership and ad‑inventory are expanding fastest.
How can brands measure ROI from CTV in emerging markets?
Brands can measure ROI from CTV in emerging markets by tying exposure data to downstream actions such as app installs, website conversions, or offline sales lift. This requires unified attribution across devices and channels, as well as clear KPIs defined upfront (for example, CPA or ROAS). Platforms like Starti use OmniTrack‑style measurement and SmartReach™ AI to connect CTV exposure with measurable outcomes, helping brands see which markets, creatives, and publisher partners actually drive profit.
Why should brands consider performance‑based CTV instead of CPM?
Brands should consider performance‑based CTV instead of pure CPM because it aligns incentives with actual business outcomes rather than raw impressions. In emerging markets, where attribution infrastructure is maturing, performance‑based models ensure that brands pay only for installs, sales, or other agreed‑upon actions. Starti’s platform exemplifies this shift by eliminating traditional CPM guessing and focusing on accountable, measurable ROAS across global CTV inventory.
How can small and mid‑size brands compete in global CTV?
Small and mid‑size brands can compete in global CTV by leveraging AI‑powered platforms that automate much of the complexity in targeting, bidding, and creative optimization. Instead of building custom in‑house teams for each region, they can use solutions like Starti to run focused campaigns in priority markets such as Nigeria, Brazil, or India at scale. By starting with narrowly defined KPIs and lean budgets, smaller brands can prove CTV’s ROI in emerging markets and then scale profitably as they validate performance.