On 24th June, in partnership with Nielsen, we hosted the CTV Leaders Breakfast: A Workshop on the Nielsen Terrace at the Hotel Martinez in Cannes.
Building on the momentum of last year’s CTV Roundtable, this year’s session brought together senior leaders from across the digital advertising, broadcasting, streaming, agency, measurement and technology ecosystem, including [list companies], to explore how the industry can move sophisticated and harmonised CTV measurement from discussion to action.
As CTV continues to gain traction across Europe, the challenge is no longer simply recognising the opportunity. The focus is now on creating the measurement foundations needed to support sustainable, scalable and trusted growth.
The morning opened with a panel discussion, led by Alex Kozloff (IAB UK), including Marie-Clare Puffett (IAB Europe) and Michael Murrins (Nielsen), exploring the complexity of CTV Measurement across Europe and the progress made over the past 12 months.
A key theme was that Europe remains a patchwork of markets, all at different stages of CTV maturity. This creates challenges for measurement, but also opportunities for local markets to learn from one another.
The panel made it clear that harmonisation should not mean forcing every market, broadcaster, platform or measurement provider into the same model. Instead, the industry needs greater alignment around shared definitions, comparable metrics and interoperable approaches that allow CTV to scale more effectively.
The discussion also reinforced that measurement itself is not always the hardest part. The bigger challenge is making different data points comparable, actionable and trusted across platforms, markets and formats. As one speaker noted, the aim is not to standardise everyone’s “secret sauce”, but to create a common understanding of the foundations that matter.
Progress is being made. Our work on a CTV Measurement Framework was highlighted as an important step in establishing a common vocabulary and reference point for transparency, data quality and consistency.
But publishing a framework is only the beginning. The next phase is about adoption, implementation and making measurement guidance meaningful in-market.
The panel also reflected on CTV’s position between two powerful ecosystems: TV and digital. Broadcasters bring trusted content environments and deep audience understanding, while digital brings data, automation and performance capabilities. The opportunity lies in bringing these strengths together in a way that supports advertisers, content owners and consumers.
Following the panel, participants moved into roundtable discussions to explore what “good” CTV measurement looks like, how the industry can close the gap between household and person-level measurement, and what needs to happen next to support adoption across Europe.
Several key takeaways emerged from the conversations:
Start with the basics. Participants agreed that CTV measurement needs simple, repeatable and scalable foundations. Metrics such as viewability, frequency, brand lift, attention and quality of content are all important, but the priority is getting the technical basics right so the market can connect, compare and scale.
Advertiser demand will help drive change. The roundtables highlighted the important role of the buy-side in setting expectations. If major budget holders are clear about the standards they need, adoption will move faster.
Household-level measurement still has value. While the ambition to move closer to person-level understanding remains, participants recognised that household-level data can be a useful proxy, particularly when supported by content consumption signals and audience modelling. The key is to be clear about what can and cannot currently be measured.
Education is still needed. As CTV becomes a fast-growing part of programmatic advertising, there is still confusion across parts of the advertiser and agency community. Clearer guidance and stronger collaboration between TV, digital and programmatic teams will be essential.
Local context matters. Examples from across Europe showed that markets are developing in different ways, from platforms joining official measurement currencies to markets where linear TV remains dominant. This reinforced the need for interoperability between local frameworks, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.
The workshop closed with a clear message: the industry has made progress, but the next phase is about turning alignment into action.
CTV measurement is not only a technical challenge. It is a commercial imperative. Consistent, trusted measurement will be critical to building buyer confidence, supporting investment and enabling CTV to scale across Europe.
To get there, the industry needs shared foundations, clearer definitions, practical guidance and stronger adoption. It also needs continued collaboration from broadcasters, streamers, agencies, advertisers, measurement companies and technology partners.
As part of this work, we are continuing to develop our CTV Measurement Framework. Following industry consultation, feedback is currently being reviewed and incorporated, with the final framework planned for release later this year. Once published, it will provide a practical reference point to support greater consistency, transparency and alignment across the European CTV measurement ecosystem.
Thank you to Nielsen for partnering with us on this important workshop and for hosting us in Cannes, and thank you to everyone who contributed to such an open and constructive discussion.
For more information about IAB Europe’s CTV work and how to get involved, please contact Marie-Clare Puffett at puffett [at] iabeurope.eu.
