IAB’s Jamie Finstein On CTV And Commerce: Don’t Talk About One Without The Other

Why It Matters

The convergence of CTV, commerce and live content reshapes how brands reach shoppers, making accurate measurement and data quality essential for ROI.

Key Takeaways

• CTV and commerce are now inseparable for marketers.
• Live streaming drives CTV growth beyond on‑demand binge.
• Creator‑driven programming expands CTV inventory and brand reach.
• Closed‑loop attribution improves measurement across CTV and retail.
• Data quality and verification tools are critical amid fragmentation.

Summary

At the 2026 IEB, IAB’s Jamie Finstein highlighted that CTV can no longer be discussed without commerce, live, and creators—all converging into a single marketing ecosystem.

He noted a surge in partnerships between streaming platforms and retailers, enabling closed‑loop attribution that ties ad exposure to purchase. Live content, first popularized by sports, now fuels CTV scale across entertainment, while creators launch their own shows on streaming services, expanding inventory.

Finstein emphasized that measurement hinges on data and signal quality. He cited IAB Tech Lab’s OMSDK and collaboration with verification partners as essential tools to combat fragmentation and ensure reliable metrics.

For marketers, the takeaway is clear: align campaign objectives with the right mix of linear, CTV, and live assets, invest in high‑quality data, and leverage new attribution frameworks to capture ROI in an increasingly blended media landscape.

Original Description

NEW YORK — Connected TV and commerce have become inseparably linked as streaming platforms increasingly partner with retailers and closed-loop attribution systems enable direct measurement of advertising’s impact on purchase behavior.

“You don’t really talk about commerce anymore without thinking about CTV,” Jamie Finstein, VP, Media Center at IAB, told Beet.TV contributor David Kaplan at the IAB NewFronts. “That is playing an increasingly large role within the commerce space and vice versa. You’re seeing a lot more partnerships between traditional streaming or CTV companies and a lot of the retailers.”

This convergence enables closed-loop attribution that addresses CTV’s longstanding measurement challenges by connecting streaming advertising directly to sales outcomes.

Retailer partnerships unlock measurement

Traditional streaming companies and retailers are forming partnerships that provide first-party data for precise targeting while creating attribution pathways that demonstrate advertising effectiveness through actual purchase behavior.

“Now CTV can be measured through a close loop attribution system,” Finstein said.

This measurement capability represents a fundamental shift from reach-based metrics toward commerce-driven outcomes that prove streaming advertising’s business impact.

Live content serves different objectives

Live programming maintains linear television’s relevance while adding scale to streaming environments, enabling marketers to choose between mass reach through linear or targeted reach with robust retailer data through connected TV.

“If your objective is still that mass reach, reaching those households, you’re still going to turn to linear most likely,” Finstein said. “If you want to reach with live content a very particular person and leverage robust first party data, let’s say from a retailer, now you have the opportunity to do so.”

Creator content expands convergence

Creators increasingly develop their own programming while collaborating with streamers for broader distribution, adding another dimension to the commerce-CTV integration as creator content becomes shoppable through streaming platforms.

“Creator now is in the CTV space. Creators have their own programming. They’re working a lot with streamers to get their name and their content out there,” Finstein said.

Data strategy depends on targeting precision

Signal quality importance varies based on whether brands pursue broad reach or specific targeting, with IAB Tech Lab solutions including Open Measurement SDK improving verification capabilities as fragmentation continues.

“If you want to reach a very specific person rather than selling toothpaste to anyone that has teeth, those might be very different objectives,” Finstein said. “Signal quality is always going to be important as well. Those sorts of things are going to be increasingly important as the landscape continues to grow in terms of fragmentation.”