Connected TV's standing as a must-buy channel among ad buyers fell from 68% in 2025 to 61% in 2026, according to a new IAB report covered by Marketing Brew. The decline does not signal buyers leaving CTV. It points to specific gaps in what the format currently delivers, and those gaps are the useful part of the story for anyone planning video budgets.
The figures below all come from the IAB report as covered by Marketing Brew, and should be read as that report's findings rather than universal fact.
What the IAB report found
The report frames a channel that is still growing but facing sharper questions from the people spending on it. Enthusiasm is cooling on concrete points that buyers can name, which makes them addressable rather than vague.
Interactivity is the leading complaint
According to the IAB report, 39% of buyers cite insufficient interactive capabilities as a limitation of CTV. At the same time, 43% say interactivity is crucial at the end of the customer journey, where a viewer is closest to acting. The gap between what buyers want at the decision point and what the format offers is the clearest single driver behind the softer must-buy number.
More small spenders, but cost is still a barrier
The pool of buyers has widened. The IAB report says "small spenders" rose from 60% in 2024 to 85% in 2026, as self-serve platforms lowered the barrier to entry. Lower barriers have not removed the cost question. Between 34% and 44% of smaller and mid-sized buyers still find cost-per-action too high, which caps how much they will commit even once they are in.
| Metric (per IAB report) | Earlier | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| CTV rated a must-buy | 68% (2025) | 61% |
| "Small spenders" | 60% (2024) | 85% |
| Buyers using generative AI for video ads | 51% | 60% |
Generative AI is now the majority approach
On AI, the report says 60% of buyers now use generative AI for video ads, up from 51%. AI-generated ads make up 33% of digital video content by its measure. Production that once gated smaller advertisers out of video is becoming cheaper and faster, which fits with the wider pool of spenders entering the channel.
Fraud is the top concern, but few will pay to measure it
Fraud and invalid traffic was the top programmatic concern for 56% of buyers in the report. Only 31% would pay for fraud-detection tools. That distance between worry and willingness to fund a fix is its own signal. Buyers see the risk but have not yet treated verification as a line item worth funding.
Why this matters
The softer must-buy number is not a reason to pull back from CTV. It is a list of things planners can push publishers and platforms on before committing larger budgets. Interactivity at the lower funnel, cost-per-action efficiency, and independent fraud measurement are the three named gaps, and each is a question a buyer can put directly to a seller.
The through-line is measurement. Buyers are worried about invalid traffic yet reluctant to pay for detection, and they want interactivity precisely where conversions happen. Both point to the same underlying need, which is knowing what a CTV impression actually produced. Without that, cost-per-action stays an argument rather than a number, and fraud stays a fear rather than a quantified loss.
What this means for Thai marketers
The IAB report does not make any Thailand-specific claim, and none should be assumed from it. The reasonable read for a local planner is that the questions buyers are raising elsewhere apply wherever CTV budgets are being weighed. Before shifting spend into connected TV, it is fair to ask a seller how interactive formats perform near the point of action, how cost-per-action is calculated, and what independent fraud verification is available.
The practical safeguard sits on the buyer's own side. A measurement setup that captures what happens after the impression, rather than relying only on a platform's own reporting, makes CTV spend easier to judge against other video options. Teams weighing connected TV against existing video buys can ground the comparison in a GA4 measurement foundation that reads across channels, and set it beside performance from YouTube video campaigns where interactivity and conversion tracking are more established, so the trade-offs are visible before budget moves.
FAQ
Did CTV lose its must-buy status?
Not entirely. The IAB report, as covered by Marketing Brew, says the share of buyers rating CTV a must-buy fell from 68% in 2025 to 61% in 2026. It remains a majority, but a smaller one.
What are buyers most concerned about?
Per the report, fraud and invalid traffic was the top programmatic concern for 56% of buyers, though only 31% would pay for fraud-detection tools.
How much of video ad content is AI-generated?
The report puts AI-generated ads at 33% of digital video content, with 60% of buyers now using generative AI for video ads, up from 51%.
CTV can earn a bigger share of a video budget once its measurement questions have answers. If you want to compare connected TV against your current video spend on evidence rather than platform reporting alone, our team can help set up the tracking that makes the comparison honest.
