Nearly 5% of inventory sold as CTV is incorrectly labelled, according to a study by 51 Degrees, which analysed 11m OpenRTB ad impressions with a relevant device-type ad signal over one week in May.
The company concludes that if one-in-20 of the impressions sold as CTV are in fact lower-value non-CTV inventory, advertisers are overpaying, whether through accident or fraud.
“CTV inventory commands a significantly higher CPM than standard video [appearing on other devices], so the mislabelling is inflating prices for advertisers whilst giving publishers who are misrepresenting their inventory a significant revenue uplift,” 51 Degrees declared.
51 Degrees provides device detection and location data services, among other things.
For the test, the company provided an independent classification of the device on which the ad impression was consumed. This was compared to the ad’s Open RTB specification label.
Defining CTV
James Rosewell, CEO at 51Degrees (pictured), said: “What is CTV? That is the question. 51Degrees believes it is a connected TV with an emphasis on the ‘TV’.
“Any device that is not a TV is not CTV. Advertisers are paying extra for the attention that content receives when it’s consumed on a TV, not on a phone or a laptop.”
Rosewell wants to see common definitions of a CTV buy.
He also advised publishers, SSPs, and DSPs to use device detection to identify the device on which advertising is consumed. “This is simple to do, and, given the value of investments, it will be more than justified,” he concluded.
