Emerging and popular CTV ad formats are getting a dose of uniformity via standardization by IAB Tech Lab.
The digital advertising technical standards-setting body on Thursday announced the release of its new CTV Ad portfolio, which includes standardized definitions for six core CTV ad formats, alongside updated programmatic connected TV guidance. It's as part of IAB's effort to make buying and selling new CTV ad formats more efficient and consistent at scale across the industry.
New ad formats have made their way to CTV over the past couple of years and adopted by major publishers and platforms (stay tuned for an upcoming special report by StreamTV Insider on the rise of interactive CTV ad formats).
And while some advanced formats from certain vendors like BrightLine, KERV, and Innovid, for example, are already available and integrated at scale across major CTV platforms and publishers, IAB Tech Lab is looking to create uniformity and enable scaled programmatic buying for emerging ones that are already in use but may currently have many various flavors – a factor potentially hindering increased adoption amid a fragmented CTV and advertising ecosystem.
The six CTV ad formats defined by the IAB Tech Lab’s new guidance include Pause, Menu, Screensaver, In-Scene, Squeezebacks, and Overlay.
IAB analyzed more than 100 submissions collected through its Ad Format Hero initiative, which sought input from the industry on real-world CTV ad formats, and essentially boiled them down to eight and got further input on which to prioritize. That factor helps illustrate how standardization can be helpful when advertisers only need to deal with six formats versus 100 flavors, and for publishers that want to support the ad formats across advertisers and different buying paths.
Per IAB Tech Lab, the updated programmatic CTV guidance details how these formats can be more efficiently and consistently bought and sold, including updated OpenRTB (real-time bidding) support for the two formats that were prioritized by the group, which are Pause and Menu ad formats. A public comment period on both documents will be open until January 31, 2026.
“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 of IAB Tech Lab, in a statement. “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.”
We and others have covered some advances on adoption and expanded programmatic buying of Pause Ads before, which is one of the top formats identified by IAB and already sold by major platforms. But as it stands for an advertiser, integrations might all be slightly different in terms of building to meet the specifications of various CTV platforms and publishers.
With standardization of some popular CTV ad formats the idea is “advertisers can build once and all these platforms can still enable them,” IAB Tech Lab COO and EVP Shailley Singh told StreamTV Insider in an interview earlier this year (more from Singh and the IAB effort in our upcoming report).
Publishers also get consistency in terms of knowing what to do with the format when they receive it, as do viewers that get served the ad as the behavior - like how to enter and exit an ad - is the same.
With consistent format definitions and required attributes, the group said its CTV ad format standardization aims to “reduce issues with creatives not rendering correctly, minimize duplicative creative production, and decrease operational strain caused by inconsistent implementation across platforms.”
Earlier this year at an industry event, DirecTV Advertising SVP of Product & Partnerships Matt Van Houten touted success with the Pause Ad format, which it has worked on with vendor TripleLift, but noted not all advertisers were necessarily jumping in with both feet - in part because of custom creative work needed across different platforms to get scale. But the exec thinks that’s changing thanks to work by IAB Tech Lab to standardize the format, as well as more widespread adoption of Pause Ads by platforms across CTV and programmatic buying of the format enabled by TripleLift.
Fubo claimed a first in 2025 when it said it would offer Pause Ads programmatically through Magnite’s ClearLine.
In announcing the standardized definitions, IAB Tech Lab had endorsement from industry players including GumGum CTO Ken Weiner who said clear standards will make it much easier for all participants to scale new CTV formats.
“It’s a simple change that will make a big difference in day-to-day execution,” stated Weiner.
Disney and NBCUniversal also commented on benefits from standardization and cross-platform interoperability.
“Interoperability is essential to unlocking the full potential of CTV,” said Gianluca Milano, principal product manager for Ad Experiences at Disney, in a statement. “These new standards will benefit the entire ecosystem by establishing a consistent framework for advanced ad formats to scale across platforms and buying channels, empowering advertisers with captivating and engaging experiences.”
NBCU Advertising & Partnerships EVP and Chief Product Officer Ryan McConville stated, “Creating a consistent standard across CTV environments help advance that mission, making it easier for advertisers of all sizes to access premium video and drive real business impact.”