Connected TV has officially taken the lead—and it’s rewriting the rules of media buying. As streaming surpassed broadcast and cable combined for the first time in 2025, advertisers are facing a tougher challenge than ever: how to reach audiences whose attention is fragmented across apps, screens, and formats.

Nexxen (NASDAQ: NEXN) and independent agency H/L believe they have an answer. By pairing Nexxen’s demand-side platform (DSP) and advanced data insights with H/L’s performance-driven media strategy, the partners report up to a 14x lift in conversion outcomes for clients across multiple verticals. The results highlight a broader shift underway in CTV—from reach-first buying to signal-backed, outcome-oriented execution.

Streaming Wins, Attention Fragments

The backdrop to this partnership is a historic inflection point. In 2025, streaming accounted for 44.8% of total TV usage, overtaking broadcast and cable combined for the first time. At the same time, free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channels are surging, with monthly viewership up roughly 12% year over year and session lengths continuing to grow.

For advertisers, that growth is a double-edged sword. CTV now offers access to highly engaged audiences—but those audiences are scattered across platforms, apps, and content types. Add in second-screen behavior, and the old playbook of broad, undifferentiated media buys starts to fall apart.

The implication is clear: attention, not impressions, is the scarce resource.

From CPMs to Cost-Per-Unique Reach

H/L’s approach with Nexxen reflects this reality. Instead of optimizing around traditional CPMs, the agency has shifted focus to cost-per-unique reach, blended frequency management by app, and optimization tied directly to down-funnel business outcomes.

“At H/L, we’ve strategically embraced this evolving CTV landscape,” said Jeremy Cobb, Vice President of Digital Platforms at H/L. “By tapping into Nexxen’s advanced insights, we’ve crafted a strategy that blends premium inventories and custom placements for initial viewer activation, with cost-effective long-tail.”

That balance matters. Premium placements help capture attention early, while long-tail inventory extends reach efficiently—without oversaturating the same viewers. The result is frequency discipline in a medium where overexposure is increasingly easy and increasingly expensive.

Measurable Results, Not Just Promising Signals

The payoff has been tangible. For H/L’s clients in sectors like automotive and insurance, these signal-backed strategies have driven up to fourteen times higher conversion outcomes compared with more traditional CTV programs.

Crucially, those gains weren’t self-attributed. They were validated by Marketing Mix Modeling (MMM) partners, giving advertisers greater confidence that CTV isn’t just delivering awareness—but measurable performance.

This kind of validation is becoming table stakes as CFOs scrutinize media spend more closely and demand proof that CTV can compete with, or complement, lower-funnel digital channels.

Nexxen’s Bet: Know Who’s Actually Watching

Nexxen’s role in this equation centers on insight density and execution speed. Its DSP combines buying capabilities with supply-side intelligence, allowing advertisers to understand not just where ads appear, but what content viewers are actively engaged with.

“Navigating the new CTV landscape requires knowing who’s truly paying attention and managing ad frequency with precision,” said Kara Puccinelli, Chief Customer Officer at Nexxen. “That’s why agencies are leaning into advanced measurement, balancing high-attention placements with cost-efficient reach.”

Rather than treating CTV inventory as interchangeable, Nexxen emphasizes contextual and engagement signals—an approach that aligns with how advertisers now evaluate performance in a multi-screen world.

Publishers Lean In With Smarter Supply

The push toward signal-backed buying isn’t limited to DSPs and agencies. Media owners are also adapting, surfacing richer data and more flexible formats to help buyers transact more intelligently.

Platforms like Philo and DIRECTV Advertising are working with Nexxen to expose high-value inventory—particularly in premium and live content—paired with granular audience and contextual signals.

“CTV remains one of the most impactful ways to connect with audiences, particularly while watching content they’re passionate about,” said Aulden Kaye Yi, Head of Advertising Partnerships at Philo. “Working with Nexxen allows us to surface our inventory with granular audience and contextual signaling.”

That capability becomes even more important as live sports continues its migration to CTV, a trend DIRECTV Advertising is actively capitalizing on.

“As live sports programming continues to shift to CTV, Nexxen allows us to surface and package this high-value ad inventory with contextual and audience data signals,” said Edmund Jules, Senior Director of Ad Sales Partnerships at DIRECTV Advertising.

Why This Matters for Advertisers Now

The Nexxen–H/L results point to a broader industry lesson: CTV performance hinges less on scale and more on signal quality.

As streaming dominates viewing time, advertisers can no longer afford to treat CTV as a blunt instrument. Success depends on:

• Understanding where attention is concentrated

• Managing frequency with discipline across apps

• Optimizing toward outcomes, not just exposure

In that sense, CTV is starting to look less like traditional TV and more like performance media—with all the accountability that implies.

The Bigger Takeaway

CTV’s growth story is no longer about adoption—it’s about execution. As the market matures, the winners will be those who can navigate fragmentation with precision, not those who simply buy more impressions.

The partnership between Nexxen and H/L shows what’s possible when advanced data, flexible buying, and outcome-driven strategy converge. In a world where attention is splintered and budgets are scrutinized, a reported 14x lift in conversions is more than a case study—it’s a signpost for where CTV buying is headed next.

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