The IAB Tech Lab announced the release of its Connected TV (CTV) Ad Portfolio, a new industry framework that standardizes key CTV advertising formats, alongside an updated Guide to Programmatic CTV. The initiative is intended to support broader adoption of emerging CTV formats and reduce fragmentation that has challenged the market as streaming continues to dominate television viewing.
CTV advertising has grown rapidly in recent years, with more viewers shifting from traditional linear TV to streaming platforms. This growth has brought a proliferation of creative ad units. Without a common language for defining and transacting them, advertisers, publishers, and technology partners have faced operational inefficiencies and inconsistent delivery. The CTV Ad Portfolio addresses this need by providing industry-aligned definitions for six core ad formats, enabling developers, platforms, and buyers to operate from shared standards.
The formats included in the new portfolio are:
- Pause – ads that appear when a viewer pauses content
- Menu – ads displayed within a platform’s menu or home screen experience
- Screensaver – ads shown during screen idle periods
- In Scene – ads integrated into the viewing environment
- Squeezebacks – formats that adjust the video frame to reveal ad content
- Overlays, non-linear ad elements layered over programming content
These definitions were selected from more than 100 ad formats submitted through IAB Tech Lab’s Ad Format Hero initiative, a collaborative effort with industry partners to identify formats with broad practical use and programmatic potential.
To complement the portfolio, IAB Tech Lab has also released a significantly updated Guide to Programmatic CTV. This guidance expands support for key formats in the OpenRTB protocol, particularly Pause and Menu ads, helping ensure these formats can be traded more consistently and efficiently across automated channels. By aligning bid-stream signals, creative rendering requirements, and technical attributes, the guide aims to reduce redundant production work and simplify execution for advertisers and publishers alike.
“Over the past year, we’ve seen the CTV marketplace explode, and the industry has been asking for clear, practical guidance to keep up,” said Anthony Katsur, CEO, IAB Tech Lab. “What we heard again and again was that publishers, buyers, and platforms needed a common language for emerging CTV formats, and a way to streamline how these formats are traded. This portfolio and guidance update are really about meeting that need and helping accelerate growth in the space.”
IAB Canada supports the release of the CTV Ad Portfolio and updated programmatic guidance, recognizing the importance of global standards in helping the Canadian market scale responsibly and efficiently.
“As CTV continues to grow in Canada, consistency and interoperability are critical to unlocking its full potential,” said Sonia Carreno, President of IAB Canada. “The CTV Ad Portfolio gives our members a clear, standards-based framework for emerging ad formats, while the updated programmatic guidance helps reduce friction across the supply chain. This work supports a more sustainable and innovative CTV marketplace for advertisers, publishers, and platforms alike.”
The CTV Ad Portfolio and updated programmatic guidance are now open for public comment through January 31, 2026, inviting input from the broader digital advertising community. Feedback can be submitted through IAB Tech Lab’s standards portal as part of its consensus-driven development process.
For IAB Canada members, participation in the public comment period is an important opportunity to ensure Canadian market needs are reflected in global standards. Input from advertisers, agencies, publishers, broadcasters, and technology providers can help validate use cases, surface operational considerations, and shape how these CTV formats are implemented in practice. By contributing feedback, Canadian stakeholders can help influence standards that will directly affect buying, selling, and measurement in the CTV ecosystem, both domestically and internationally.