Signal vs. Static: How We Get to True CTV Transparency

At Marketecture Live III in New York City, Mario Diez, Chief Executive Officer, Peer39, and David Nyurenberg, SVP of Digital, InterMedia Advertising, broke down the biggest challenge in CTV today: the lack of signal transparency. They explored how missing or inconsistent data in the bidstream leads to inefficient buying, commoditized inventory, and limited optimization. Backed by real research and case studies, the conversation highlights why richer signals, better supply paths, and industry-wide transparency are critical to unlocking CTV’s full performance potential. Takeaways 60% of CTV inventory is blind, lacking usable signals for buyers Without signals, algorithms cannot optimize effectively Completion rates can be misleading without content-level context Signal transparency enables better performance even at higher CPMs Supply path optimization should prioritize signal quality, not just cost Publishers can increase value by sharing more data, not less Lack of transparency leads to commoditization of premium inventory. Industry-wide collaboration is needed to improve signal standards Chapters 00:00 Introduction to CTV signal challenges and transparency 01:19 How CTV evolved from linear but lost signal clarity 02:29 Why buyers struggle without content-level data 04:44 Research reveals 60% of CTV inventory is blind 06:01 Example: the same content appears differently across platforms 07:05 Supply path optimization and signal quality 10:14 Why completion rate is a misleading metric 11:10 Impact of UGC and misclassified content on campaigns 12:05 Why transparency is key to performance CTV 13:12 Case study: Full transparency drives better results 14:26 Improvements in program-level signals across the market 15:38 Challenges in valuing premium content like sports 17:22 Transparency as a choice for buyers and publishers 18:16 Industry barriers, including outdated privacy laws 20:40 What buyers and publishers can do moving forward Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices