Meta eyes CTV expansion to fuel its next wave of ad growth

April 27, 2026 Tipped to become the largest advertising company in the industry in 2026, Meta is quietly laying the groundwork for a move into CTV advertising, according to multiple sources familiar with the discussions. While the exact nature of its intentions remains unclear, sucha move would extend its performance advertising offering onto the biggest screen in the home. Advertisement TOP STORY Business of TV Meta eyes CTV expansion to fuel its next wave of ad growth Meta is looking to extend its performance advertising offering onto the biggest screen in the home.  OTHER THINGS TO KNOW AI may be speeding up media buying, but it’s also exposing cracks in how agencies execute. As independent agencies hit operational limits, they’re turning to partners to scale without sacrificing client trust. Partner insights from Pathlabs. As publishers are on the hook to deliver a smooth, reliable ad experience to massive, simultaneous global audiences, the only way to hit this kind of scale is with programmatic advertising. Partner insights from Google Ad Manager. AI gives marketers speed. Landing pages that used to take weeks to build now take minutes. But people with disabilities stop buying from brands whose AI-built sites make it impossible to complete a purchase. Partner insights from AudioEye. MEDIA & PLATFORMS The Business of AI News UK turns The Times’ first-party data into synthetic audiences for advertisers  News UK is turning The Times’ first-party data into a synthetic audience planning tool for advertisers. The Creator Economy Media Buying Briefing: Agencies turn creators into test labs for campaigns and product innovation Horizon Media’s one example, through its Blue Hour Studios, which is working with advertisers like SharkNinja to pressure-test and adapt campaigns on the fly, using creators in the beginning stages. PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM NEXXEN Native CTV is evolving into a scalable, full-funnel play As programmatic infrastructure matures across smart TV environments, native placements are becoming easier to activate alongside in-stream, display and mobile within the same audience and measurement frameworks. PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM OPTABLE Why cross-platform measurement is key to optimizing in real time Forty-four percent of publishers hope agentic adoption will result in direct advertiser relationships. Before publishers can truly benefit from agentic AI, they must become agent-ready with a strong data foundation and a robust identity infrastructure. Advertisement MARKETING The Business of AI Marketers join OpenAI’s ad pilot, nudged by FOMO Weeks into the offering going live, it’s unclear if the tech company’s ad platform offers real value to marketers. PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM KEEN DECISION SYSTEMS Why high-growth brands view marketing as a value generator On average, winning brands — those that achieve at least 5% growth in both sales and net present value over a 12-month period — increased their marketing budgets by 30% year over year. ICYMI Content & Commerce NHL looks to TikTok to capitalize on Heated Rivalry and Olympics as it grows beyond U.S. and Canada The league is leveraging a successful TikTok operation to expand presence in Europe, recruit casual fans and pump up the value of its media rights. The Creator Economy Beehiiv adds even more features to go up against competitors and win over creators Weeks after podcasts, Beehiiv continues to add to its platform infrastructure to court creators, but is it enough? Written by Jim Cooper and Sara Jerde Were you forwarded this email? Sign up to get it daily. Advertise | Digiday+ | Events | Awards Update your email | Unsubscribe | Privacy policy