Market Transparency, AI Reshape Ad Buying in Connected TV: Horizon Media's Samantha Rose

Why It Matters

Advertisers gaining granular program-level data plus AI-driven contextual targeting can make CTV buying more efficient, measurable and brand-safe, unlocking inventory and improving ROI. This shift accelerates the migration of TV budgets into more programmatic, data-driven CTV strategies.

Summary

Horizon Media is rethinking connected TV (CTV) buying by treating CTV as multiple subcategories—live CTV, AVOD, FAST and others—and planning and optimizing differently across each. Clients are demanding program- and scene-level transparency so they can measure where ads run, bid programmatically on the impressions that matter, and balance reach with efficiency. Contextual metadata and AI are being deployed to compensate for weaker user-level targeting, improve relevance, and enable real-time placement and interactive formats. Greater visibility into specific shows and scenes is also reframing brand-safety approaches, allowing advertisers to avoid problematic moments while accessing more inventory.

Original Description

LAS VEGAS – As viewers gain more control over what they watch and when they watch it, Horizon Media is reshaping how it plans for connected TV.

Speaking with Beet.TV at CES 2026, strategic investment lead Samantha Rose said CTV can no longer be treated as a single bucket. Instead, Horizon plans across distinct subcategories, including live CTV, subscription video on demand and the fast-growing FAST ecosystem.

Each plays a different role in client media plans and requires different assumptions. Planning does not stop once campaigns are live. In this interview with Beet.TV contributor David Kaplan, Rose said Horizon continuously optimizes based on performance data, not just upfront planning models.

Why clients want deeper content visibility

Advertisers are increasingly asking where their ads actually appear and what content surrounds them. Rose said that expectation is hardly radical.

“That’s the type of information we’ve always had in television, and we’re looking for that same type of information in CTV,” she said.

Some platforms have resisted sharing that level of detail out of concern that buyers would avoid certain inventory. Rose argued the opposite is true. More information gives advertisers greater control and allows them to balance reach, engagement and efficiency, especially as programmatic activation and real time bidding become central to CTV buying.

Contextual metadata fills targeting gaps

As user level targeting becomes less reliable, Horizon is leaning harder on contextual signals. Rose said who is watching still matters, but what they are watching matters just as much.

Program level metadata helps planners understand context and place ads where they are more likely to resonate. Ads shown in relevant environments perform better, she said, making context a practical solution rather than a fallback. This approach also helps buyers value impressions tied to niche or smaller scale content that still delivers meaningful results.

Brand safety evolves beyond legacy TV rules

Greater visibility into specific shows and even individual scenes is changing how brands think about safety and suitability. Rose said detailed insight does not automatically shrink opportunity. In many cases, it expands it.

Advertisers can avoid specific moments within a program while staying present in content that otherwise aligns with brand values. She noted that CTV has long been judged by legacy broadcast standards, even though it offers more control than traditional television. At the same time, it has not fully adopted digital style safeguards. Finding a middle ground, she said, could unlock more inventory rather than close it off.

AI sharpens placement and interactivity

Artificial intelligence is set to play a central role in how CTV campaigns are planned and optimized. Rose said AI will help improve contextual relevance and guide ads to the right environments in real time. It will also enhance interactive formats, from QR codes to other engagement driven experiences that are unique to CTV.

“AI is going to be critically important in CTV placements,” she said, particularly as buyers seek efficiency while staying aligned with specific campaign KPIs.