Ad Quality in 2026: Major Shifts & Industry Trends

As 2026 kicks off, Connected TV (CTV) continues its explosive growth and with it, the need for quality ad placements has never been more urgent. With tens of thousands of channels and hundreds of thousands of programs, navigating CTV is complex. But for advertisers who invest in smarter, more precise tools, the payoff is clear: higher engagement, better completion rates, and lower wasted spend.

Peer39 is leading the charge with the industry’s largest set of program-level CTV data. With over 200,000 shows and more than 2,000 pre-bid categories available directly within major demand side platforms (DSPs), Peer39 offers the easiest, most scalable way to buy premium CTV without the need for complex deals or manual setups.

What Ad Quality Means for CTV in 2026

CTV ad quality goes beyond basic brand safety. It means:

• Avoiding non-CTV environments like screensavers and mobile apps

• Targeting content with precision by mood, genre, rating, or even actor

• Ensuring ads appear in shows that match brand values and campaign goals

• Using post-campaign analytics tied directly to pre-bid decisions

In CTV, ad quality is the difference between wasted budget and exceptional performance.

Q4 2025: A CTV Quality Baseline

Peer39's most recent data highlights both challenges and wins:

• 25% of open exchange CTV impressions were exposed to Fake CTV Content, including misclassified non television environments like screensavers and idle apps

• Peer39 tagged campaigns delivered an 89% completion rate, reflecting strong engagement across premium CTV environments even as inventory scaled seasonally

• Program-level targeting reduced overblocking and improved reach across premium inventory

• Advertisers who used Peer39’s CTV solutions benefited from higher quality, better performance, and simplified activation

Additional quality benchmarks reinforce the impact of program-level transparency:

• User Generated Content exposure was nearly eliminated for Peer39 clients at just 0.01%, compared to 5% on the open exchange

• Sensitive content exposure remained significantly lower for Peer39 clients at 6%, versus 21% on the open exchange

Why Program-Level CTV Data Matters

App-level categorization is no longer enough. When a buyer blocks news, they risk excluding the entire app even if the majority of content is entertainment or sports. Program-level controls fix this by:

• Letting advertisers exclude only specific content types such as violent dramas or divisive news

• Preserving scale and reach while maintaining brand suitability

• Enabling keyword-level targeting by actor, director, team, or content description

Peer39’s solutions eliminates the trade-off between safety and scale.

The Peer39 Advantage in CTV

• Largest set of program level data: More than 200,000 shows and over 2,000 targeting categories

• Easiest way to activate: Available in top DSPs like Amazon, Basis Technologies, The Trade Desk, Infillion, Yahoo, and more

• Transparent performance analytics: See where your ads ran and how they performed by show, genre, and environment

• Better performance: Peer39 clients reduced Fake CTV Content from 25% on the open exchange to just 2.5% using program-level controls

What to Watch in 2026

• Rapid adoption of CTV keyword targeting across verticals

• Continued shift away from deals toward contextual targeting within DSPs

• Greater demand for analytics that show real outcomes not just delivery metrics

• Ad quality becoming a shared metric across media, brand safety, and performance teams

Final Word

CTV is the fastest growing channel in digital advertising. But without the right tools, advertisers risk losing control, wasting spend, and missing performance goals. Peer39 offers the most advanced, accessible, and scalable CTV targeting solution on the market. In 2026, smarter CTV buying starts with better data and Peer39 is where it starts.