Content Categories on Streaming Devices are Expanding

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Content Categories on Streaming Devices are Expanding Over the past year, content publishers have significantly evolved their distribution strategies. The COVID-19 pandemic, which continues to affect many regions, has turned many of these shifts into lasting industry standards.

At the same time, advertiser demand for video impressions continues to outpace supply. This gap is widening as consumers increasingly embrace streaming video across devices.

The trend is especially pronounced in connected TV (CTV), where a growing share of inventory is now transacted programmatically.

60% of CTV Inventory Will Be Bought Programmatically

Content Categories on Streaming Devices are Expanding Thanks to accelerated adoption during the pandemic, CTV content has gained popularity across all age groups, including Baby Boomers. CTV audiences tend to be younger and more affluent, with 86% of Millennials and Generation Z watching CTV regularly.

This surge has led to an influx of new channels and applications, creating fresh opportunities for video publishers and creators to expand into CTV.

Navigating the Cookieless Future

The growth of CTV coincides with the ongoing phase-out of third-party cookies. In January 2021, Google announced it would end support for third-party cookies in Chrome within two years.

Other platforms are expected to follow, driven further by stricter data privacy regulations such as the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation.

The Decline of Third-Party Cookies — a Challenge

Content Categories on Streaming Devices are Expanding The removal of third-party cookies poses a major challenge for advertisers who previously relied on cookie-based data for audience targeting and personalization.

CTV advertising offers an effective alternative by enabling relevant targeting based on viewing behavior while respecting user privacy.

An Astronaut, a Doctor, or a Vlogger: Who Are CTV Content Owners?

CTV’s rise follows the earlier explosion of vlogging and user-generated video on platforms like YouTube. When asked what they want to be when they grow up, many young people now answer “influencer,” envisioning their own video channel or partnership with a content aggregator.

Content Categories on Streaming Devices are Expanding Early movers who mastered YouTube monetization are now exploring CTV as the next high-potential frontier. In 2019, Ryan’s World became one of the first major YouTube creators to launch on Roku. Leading platforms such as Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV continue to expand their ecosystems by supporting independent creators alongside premium original content.

Today’s CTV environment features diverse programming, from live sports to lifestyle channels covering travel, health, beauty, cooking, and gaming.

Comparing YouTube and CTV

Content Categories on Streaming Devices are Expanding While YouTube and CTV serve different purposes, VlogBox research shows that publishers in animation and vlogging verticals can achieve CPMs of up to $8 on CTV channels.

Monetization Models

CTV offers creators multiple monetization options, including subscription video on demand (SVOD), transactional video on demand (TVOD), and advertising-based video on demand (AVOD), providing greater operational flexibility.

Gaming Verticals

Gaming continues to demonstrate strong momentum. According to Samsung Ads, gamers in the UK, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain spend approximately two hours per day playing. More than 80% of this audience is reached through advanced TV, making it difficult to engage them via traditional linear television.

Connected TV therefore provides sophisticated targeting, homepage takeovers, granular analytics, and innovative ad formats.

Optimizing SPO and DPO Strategies

Content Categories on Streaming Devices are Expanding Successful content distribution requires a clear supply path optimization (SPO) and demand path optimization (DPO) strategy. SPO helps publishers identify the most effective supply-side platforms (SSPs), while DPO focuses on the demand-side platforms (DSPs) bidding on inventory.

The former highlights the ad tech vendors that are selling, the latter the vendors that are actually bidding on ads.

Although only 20% of industry players currently have a formal SPO/DPO strategy, focusing on quality inventory, testing multiple partners, and monitoring key metrics such as reach, cost, and win rate can deliver strong results.

Similar organizations often own DSPs and their own exchange; they have an interest in limiting control on bids.

Publishers are advised to maintain direct control over their SPO approach and evaluate a broader range of SSPs and DSPs, as not all inventory is available through every partner.

Content Categories on Streaming Devices are Expanding As SPO and DPO continue to converge, experts suggest moving toward unified systems that allow advertisers and publishers to connect, target, and transact seamlessly.

Content Categories on Streaming Devices are Expanding This evolution presents an opportunity for creators and advertisers to achieve shared goals more efficiently.