The rapid growth of connected TV (CTV) is reshaping advertising, but industry veteran Tal Melenboim warns that structural hurdles in measurement, identity, and fraud remain key obstacles to unlocking its full potential.
In an interview with Benzinga, Melenboim, a serial entrepreneur with a background in streaming and ad tech, noted that streaming already represents more than 44% of total television viewing in the U.S., with YouTube alone holding a 12% share.
The shift, he said, is pulling billions in advertising budgets toward CTV, which is expanding at double-digit rates and increasingly drawing live sports audiences.
While growth is accelerating, he highlighted fragmentation as the industry’s most pressing issue.
“The biggest roadblock is fragmentation, in measurement, in identity, in how we track frequency across platforms. Then there’s quality. Fraud is still a problem, and there’s too much variance in creative formats and data signals,” Melenboim said.
He argued that more widespread adoption of shared identity systems, privacy-safe data clean rooms, and supply path optimization could help overcome these challenges and build trust among advertisers.
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Melenboim also pointed to a shift in how advertisers will evaluate success.
As inventory scales, cost-per-thousand (CPM) rates are expected to stabilize, with buyers focusing less on completion rates and more on proof of incremental reach and sales lift.
Privacy regulation is also reshaping strategies. He noted that laws such as California’s CPRA and U.K. scrutiny of device fingerprinting are pushing platforms to rely more on consent-based data.
“The upside for CTV is that it’s a consent-heavy environment compared to the open web. You can still plan at the household level, measure in clean rooms, and stay compliant,” he said.
Melenboim further said he believes CTV will increasingly be planned alongside YouTube as an equal channel on the biggest screen in the home.
“In many ways, it’s already overtaking traditional TV. Viewership has shifted, and the ad dollars are following,” he said.
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Image: Shutterstock/Gorodenkoff
