Marc Dinsdale

CTV vs OTT — same thing, right? Not exactly. I see this confusion all the time. So let’s clear it up 👇 OTT (Over-the-Top) = The delivery method. It refers to any video content delivered via the internet, over traditional cable/satellite. Think: Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, Prime Video — across all devices. CTV (Connected TV) = The device. It refers to a television screen that connects to the internet and streams OTT content. Think: Smart TVs, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire Stick, Chromecast, etc. All CTV is OTT. But not all OTT is CTV. Watching Netflix on your iPhone? OTT. Watching Netflix on your smart TV? CTV (and OTT). Why it matters to advertisers: Targeting, measurement, pricing — they differ depending on the device type. CTV is often premium-priced due to screen size + lean-back experience. OTT on mobile/web may have different user behaviors and value. If you don’t know the difference — you risk making wrong assumptions about audience, cost, or delivery. Know your acronyms. Know your screens. #CTV #OTT #ProgrammaticVideo #AdTech #ConnectedTV #MediaBuying

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While hours streamed on platforms like Disney+ have decreased, PlutoTV saw a 36% increase in hours streamed. Let’s dive into more data shared by our partners at Corus: The narrative here is that traditional broadcasters in the Canadian market are finding success in growing viewership of their own streaming platforms, and that these offer a compelling advertising opportunity for brands. In fact, of the 3 major streaming platforms (Disney+, Amazon Prime, Netflix), only Prime saw growth in % of total viewership time. Netflix and Disney+ saw a 13% and 22% decrease YoY for the adult 18+ demographic. Corus owns three major platforms that have all seen growth in total monthly hours tuned - StackTV, GlobalTV, and PlutoTV. Each platform has a different mix of shows and audience - and in the carousel below we highlight some of the shows they offer. One interesting data point that they shared is that the Pluto TV audience has started to skew younger. 28% of users are A18-34 in Fall ‘24 vs 14% in Fall 23’. 26% of users are A35-49 in Fall ‘24 vs 20% in Fall ‘23. The most surprising highlight is that of the PlutoTV viewers surveyed, 50% do not have a paid subscription with ads for Netflix, Amazon Prime, or Disney+ and almost 40% haven’t watched YouTube in the past month. The implications for advertisers? We’re seeing promising results mixing in CTV advertising on platforms like PlutoTV and StackTV to reach audiences that would otherwise not be accessible via CTV in the Canadian market. If you want a walk through of costing and a recommended strategy - reach out to our team!

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Political advertisers face unique challenges in reaching persuadable audiences via streaming TV, including rising tech fees and fragmented supply chains. That's why Cross Screen Media tapped Magnite's ClearLine to boost their reach of relevant voters across CTV. Read more here: https://magnite.smh.re/1Xf

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I recently had the privilege of not only attending #CES2026 with WPP Media (and the amazing Jodi Peacock) but also speaking at their first-ever Vegas North event here in Toronto. Here are my 4 big takeaways on how tech is shifting from reactive to anticipatory: The Agentic Era: AI is moving beyond "chatting" to "doing"—executing complex tasks on our behalf. Interoperability: Devices will finally connect to make collective decisions, shifting us from being "pilots" of gadgets to "passengers" in a system that powers the truly "Smart Home". Health as "Ambient Living": AI has the capacity to move us from reactive treatment to preventative, ambient monitoring. Think smart toilets that track biomarkers, anti-tripping shoes, or AI-powered exoskeletons that assist with mobility. Marketing to Humans & Machines: We will need a dual strategy. Brands must be "discoverable" by AI agents while doubling down on authentic human connection in our own brand voice and through creators who connect us with their communities. At Google, we’re leading this charge with Gemini 3—our most intelligent model yet— with a focus on making technology more helpful than ever. #WPPMedia #Canada #GoogleCanada #MarketingInnovation #AI #GeminiAI

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Tremendous innovation from Sky in the UK with the launch of Norman, a database of addressable TV campaigns. This initiative provides clear insights into what drives outcomes based on actual campaigns and results. Two key findings that Canadian advertisers can benefit from: 1. A small increase in targeting variables leads to disproportionate positive impact 2. The best performance comes from integrating first-party data, with up to 8x higher lift and 6x higher incremental visits At EA, we can assist you in implementing both strategies effectively, right now.

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CTV Surge Puts Pressure on The Trade Desk’s Take Rate Amid Rising Competition: As connected TV (CTV) advertising skyrockets, The Trade Desk, a leading demand-side platform (DSP), faces mounting pressure on its take rate—the percentage of ad spend it retains as revenue. Historically hovering around 20%, this rate is under scrutiny as competitors like Viant and Amazon’s DSP slash fees to capture market share, exploiting a rare moment of vulnerability for the ad tech giant. The CTV boom, driven by streaming platforms like Disney+ and Roku, has shifted ad budgets toward programmatic buying, where The Trade Desk excels. However, rivals are undercutting fees, offering take rates as low as single digits for CTV campaigns. This race to the bottom threatens margins across the board, as advertisers demand more value for their spend. Amazon, with its integrated ad stack and vast first-party data, poses a unique challenge, luring brands with lower costs and direct inventory access. Data costs are another battleground: The Trade Desk’s Unified ID 2.0 (UID2) and OpenPath initiatives aim to reduce reliance on third-party cookies, but integrating these solutions adds expense. Competitors, leveraging proprietary data or cheaper probabilistic models, are gaining ground by offering cost-effective targeting. For instance, Shutterfly’s recent CTV campaign, which used search-based geographic targeting, outperformed deterministic ID methods, hinting at a shift toward leaner data strategies. Meanwhile, declining cloud costs—down 20-30% in recent years due to efficiencies in AWS and Google Cloud—offer a silver lining. DSPs can reinvest savings into tech upgrades or lower fees, intensifying competition. The Trade Desk, which missed Q4 2024 revenue guidance, must navigate this landscape carefully. CEO Jeff Green remains bullish, citing CTV’s 40%+ share of platform revenue and digital audio as growth areas, but investors are wary. As CTV matures, The Trade Desk’s ability to balance take rate, data costs, and cloud-driven efficiencies will determine its edge against leaner, aggressive peers.

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AI is no longer a feature in advertising. It’s becoming the operating system. As our industry shifts toward predictive decisioning and autonomous workflows, the real question isn’t how powerful our tools are - it’s how responsibly they’re deployed. Intelligence must be embedded into the infrastructure, guided by governance, transparency, and shared standards. That’s why I’m proud to share that DanAds has joined IAB Canada. This isn’t simply about membership. It’s about contributing to the frameworks that will define AI-native monetization, autonomous ad operations, and next-generation measurement across the Canadian media ecosystem. Three priorities guide us: • Responsible AI: ensuring automation strengthens brand safety, privacy, and trust.  • Democratized Intelligence: making predictive yield optimization and advanced monetization models accessible beyond the largest global platforms.  • Modern Measurement: evolving performance frameworks for a machine-led advertising environment. Canada has long been a key market for us, and this marks an important step in our North American growth. The future of advertising will be intelligent by design, but it must also be accountable by principle. You can read the full press release:  https://lnkd.in/dTfuPw6T

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📺 CTV: Content Has Arrived — Now Advertising Is Catching Up The way Canadians watch TV has changed for good. And our industry? We’re evolving fast to meet the moment. At #CTVUnplugged hosted by IAB Canada & Google Canada, leaders from Disney+ (Canada), Corus Entertainment, and Omnicom Media Group (Canada) shared a clear message: ✅ Audiences are here. 🎥 Canadians now watch 36+ hours of video a week — and CTV is a daily habit. 💥 The content is premium, plentiful, and professionally produced. ⚠️ The ad ecosystem is catching up. 📱 As Philippe Kleim (Corus) showed, buying CTV isn’t plug-and-play. Fragmentation across platforms, devices, and data makes measurement and scale a challenge. 🔧 But we’re making progress. Jeremy Simpson (OMG) introduced CASA — an effort to bring standardization and transparency to the space. Because better signals = smarter buying = stronger outcomes. 💡 My POV: CTV has become an incredible content experience for viewers. Now, we — as marketers, media buyers, and others in the industry — are working to make it just as seamless for advertisers. It’s not perfect yet, but year over year, we’re getting better. 📍CTV isn’t just the future — it’s now. The brands that win will be the ones showing up intentionally in this space. #CTV #ConnectedTV #DigitalVideo #Programmatic #RetailMedia #CTVUnplugged #AdTech #IABCanada #GoogleCanada #MarketingStrategy #CanadianMarketing #MediaInnovation #VideoAdvertising #SmartBuying #DigitalTransformation

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