Clem Birdsall, sales director at Publica by IAS, examines transparency in CTV advertising, with a focus on what buyers are currently asking for.

The Connected TV (CTV) ecosystem has grown rapidly over the last few years, becoming a central part of how agencies and brands reach audiences. With this growth comes evolving expectations from buyers. At Publica by IAS, we work closely with publishers to help them maximise revenue and deliver better ad experiences. Thanks to our relationship with IAS, which works with all major Hold Co’s in ANZ, we’ve had the rare opportunity to hear from the buyers directly investing in CTV.

What we’ve been hearing from the buy side is clear: performance is the goal, and without transparency, improving performance is near impossible. Transparency can sometimes get thought of as niche vanity metrics, but it’s important to remember that transparency comes in many flavours, and without it, improving performance is near impossible.

Not being able to see what influences performance is like driving a manual car while having a hand tied behind your back and wearing an eye patch (this illustration reflects the perspectives on effectiveness shared by multiple advertisers and publishers we spoke to). Buyers want to understand what will impact performance, not just have more information.

Below, we explore the key themes of buyer feedback and what they mean for publishers in today’s programmatic-first landscape.

Where do my ads appear?

One of the most consistent requests from buyers is “what can I do to make my CTV buy work harder?” Traditional TV buyers were able to see exactly where ads ran, knowing it was the same for everyone else (as well as directly influence position. However, CTV brings a level of efficiency meaning that for the same level of transparency now, we need to know where every single ad ran on every device, and importantly when looking at performance, what factors changed from one ad to the next. This is a far larger ask – and in a world of scale potentially, offers only marginal benefit.

Consumers see CTV as just TV, so agencies and brands tell us placement within a pod is still just as important to performance as it was, if they’re adjacent to competitors, or if they’re running in shorter or longer pods, and could be a contributing factor to CTV’s demand issue. 

Who else is in the pod?

Equally important is the question of adjacency. In the CTV environment, buyers are increasingly focused on who else appears alongside them, especially if they are toward the middle of the pod and the prior ad primes the user’s attention (or has led them to pull their phones out). Sharing a pod with a direct competitor can dilute messaging, with impact changing if you are first or second, while adjacency to complementary brands can be a positive multiplier.

This is why buyers want control and transparency around pod construction, not just where their ad appears, but who’s next to them. Publishers who can provide these insights stand to build stronger, more trusted relationships with their buyers who are ultimately trying to influence and increase performance within their buys.

What content did my ads run on?

Content adjacency is another top priority. In digital display or video, buyers have grown accustomed to domain or app-level reporting, with contextual targeting and avoidance, allowing for more specific delivery. In CTV, the expectation extends to showing detail at the episode level or even the show level. Agencies and brands want assurance that their ads are appearing in environments that align with their values and deliver the audience they’re aiming to reach.

The value here is twofold: transparency builds trust, and content-level insights help buyers optimise performance. As CTV matures, this will likely become table stakes rather than a differentiator.

Why transparency matters for performance

Underlying all of these requests is one core driver: performance. Buyers want transparency not for its own sake, but because they see clear connections between placement, adjacency, and outcomes. An ad in the first pod position may deliver higher attention; an adjacency to a competitor might erode impact; placement next to premium content could lift brand metrics.

By sharing transparency into pod position, pod partners, and content, publishers aren’t just answering buyers' questions; they’re helping them understand how to improve ROI on CTV investments. This is a powerful opportunity for publishers to demonstrate value beyond impressions and benefit the overall CTV landscape.

The role of programmatic

Most CTV buying today is happening programmatically, through demand-side platforms (DSPs) that offer efficiency and scale, particularly when transacting among multiple publishers.

But programmatic’s strength has historically been ease and automation, not transparency. This is where publishers and their technology partners can step in. By layering transparency on top of programmatic efficiency, publishers can address one of the buy side’s biggest pain points, turning CTV into a channel that is both easy to buy and easy to trust.

How publishers can respond

The message from buyers is clear: better outcomes are built on a foundation of transparency. For publishers, this presents both a challenge and an opportunity.

• Challenge: It requires investment in ad serving and data infrastructure that can capture and share this level of detail.
  
• Opportunity: By meeting buyer expectations, publishers can differentiate themselves, command stronger demand, and build deeper relationships with agencies and brands.
  

At Publica by IAS, we’re committed to equipping publishers with the tools they need to deliver this transparency at scale. From advanced ad serving to header bidding solutions, our goal is to ensure publishers can provide buyers with the clarity they need without sacrificing yield.

Looking ahead

CTV has always promised the best of both worlds: the storytelling power of TV with the accountability of digital. Delivering on that promise requires listening to buyers and responding to their needs. Transparency into pod position, pod partners, and content is quickly becoming the foundation of a trusted and effective CTV marketplace.

Publishers who lean into this shift will not only meet the demands of today’s buyers but also position themselves for long-term success in an increasingly competitive market. At Publica by IAS, we’re excited to help our publisher partners lead the way.