The IAB Tech Lab has unveiled a new CTV Ad Portfolio and a major update to its Guide to Programmatic CTV, aiming to bring much-needed clarity and consistency to a fast-growing — and often fragmented — part of the digital advertising landscape.
The portfolio outlines six core ad formats for connected TV: Pause, Menu, Screensaver, In Scene, Squeezebacks and Overlays. These were distilled from over 100 real-world submissions gathered through the industry-wide “Ad Format Hero” initiative.
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IAB Tech Lab has also updated its programmatic CTV guidance, offering practical advice on how to transact these ad types more efficiently. The update includes enhanced OpenRTB support, with a focus on the two formats prioritized by an industry working group: Pause and Menu.
Both documents are now open for public comment through January 31. Go here to give your thoughts.
Need for a common language
“Over the past year, we’ve seen the CTV marketplace explode and the industry has been asking for clear, practical guidance to keep up,” Anthony Katsur, CEO of IAB Tech Lab, said 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.”
That common language is increasingly urgent. CTV and streaming now account for the majority of TV viewing in the U.S., and with that shift comes greater demand for scalable, non-disruptive ad formats that fit the medium. Many of the defined formats — particularly Pause and Menu — offer high-value inventory outside of traditional ad breaks.
By standardizing definitions and technical requirements, the guidance aims to minimize creative errors, reduce production redundancies and ease operational headaches caused by inconsistent implementations.
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This level of standardization echoes what IAB Tech Lab achieved with its original Digital Ad Portfolio for display ads, and the industry response so far has been enthusiastic.
“Interoperability is essential to unlocking the full potential of CTV,” Gianluca Milano, head of ad experience product at Disney, said 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.”
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