Quick answer
The Trade Desk and DV360 dominate enterprise CTV programmatic buying. tvScientific and Tatari serve mid-market advertisers directly. Vibe (now part of Walmart Connect after its June 2026 acquisition) and Roku Ads offer self-serve entry points. Simulmedia specializes in linear-to-CTV extension. Spotify Advertising adds streaming audio alongside CTV reach. The right platform depends on your spend level, whether you need self-serve access, and whether purchase data or household identity matters more to your targeting.
Connected TV advertising has moved from a niche channel to a core part of most performance media budgets. Streaming audiences have grown while traditional cable viewership has declined, and the addressability of CTV, including household-level targeting and closed-loop attribution, has made it attractive beyond brand campaigns.
The landscape now includes enterprise DSPs, performance-focused mid-market platforms, self-serve tools, and retail media networks with CTV inventory. This comparison covers the eight most significant CTV advertising companies as of mid-2026.
Vibe (Now Walmart Connect)
Vibe was built as a self-serve CTV platform for brands that wanted streaming TV reach without agency overhead or the spend minimums that enterprise DSPs require. The platform offered a clean interface, campaign setup in hours rather than weeks, and a starting point accessible to growth-stage advertisers.
In June 2026, Walmart acquired Vibe for approximately $1.4 billion and integrated the platform into Walmart Connect, Walmart’s retail media network. The combined offering gives Walmart Connect a CTV inventory layer that lets advertisers extend retail media targeting into streaming TV, reaching Walmart shoppers across connected devices in addition to Walmart’s own digital properties.
For current Vibe users and for advertisers evaluating self-serve CTV, the platform’s roadmap is now tied to Walmart Connect’s retail media strategy. Self-serve CTV functionality continues to operate, and the long-term direction incorporates Walmart’s first-party shopper data.
Best for: Self-serve CTV access without agency requirements. CPG and retail brands that want to combine Walmart shopper data with streaming TV reach.
tvScientific
tvScientific is a self-serve CTV platform that applies performance advertising principles to streaming TV. The platform is built for advertisers who want to run and optimize CTV campaigns without a managed service layer.
tvScientific offers outcome-based optimization, letting advertisers set goals around conversions, site visits, or other measurable actions rather than optimizing purely for impression delivery. The platform connects to multiple streaming publishers and uses its own data partnerships for targeting.
Pricing is not published but is positioned as accessible for mid-market advertisers and agencies. The self-serve model means setup and iteration are faster than managed alternatives.
Best for: Performance advertisers and agencies who want self-serve control over CTV campaigns with outcome-based optimization.
Tatari
Tatari is a TV measurement and buying platform built for growth-stage brands. Its core premise is making TV advertising as measurable as digital: Tatari provides attribution that connects TV ad exposures to website visits, app installs, and purchases.
Tatari covers both linear TV (broadcast and cable) and streaming CTV in a single buying and measurement interface. This cross-channel view is useful for advertisers who want to understand the total impact of TV without separating linear and streaming into separate reports.
The platform includes automatic creative testing and performance reporting. Tatari’s client base skews toward direct-to-consumer brands and growth-stage companies that treat TV as a performance channel rather than a brand-building one.
Best for: Growth-stage and DTC brands that want TV measurement tied to performance outcomes, and advertisers who want to manage linear and CTV in one system.
Simulmedia
Simulmedia focuses on TV audience planning and buying, with particular strength in extending linear TV campaigns into streaming. Its TV+ platform helps advertisers identify where target audiences are watching across linear and streaming publishers, then buy reach across both.
Simulmedia built its reputation in linear TV and expanded into streaming as audiences migrated. The cross-channel audience view is the platform’s differentiator: Simulmedia can surface where a specific target audience is watching that a linear-only or streaming-only plan would miss.
Best for: Advertisers running linear TV campaigns who want to extend reach into CTV, or agencies managing cross-channel TV planning that spans both broadcast and streaming.
Roku Ads
Roku is the largest streaming platform in the US by active accounts. Roku Ads gives advertisers direct access to Roku’s audience across its own streaming content, the Roku Channel, and third-party streaming apps viewed on Roku devices.
Roku’s first-party data covers the streaming behavior of its device base, enabling targeting based on content consumption patterns rather than just demographic signals. Roku Ads offers both self-serve access through its OneView platform and managed buying through agency relationships.
Roku also provides interactive ad formats specific to the streaming context, including pause ads and home screen placements, which are not available through third-party DSPs buying Roku inventory.
Best for: Advertisers who want direct access to Roku’s audience. Brands running streaming-native ad formats not accessible through third-party DSPs.
Amazon DSP
Amazon DSP brings first-party purchase data to CTV buying. For brands sold on Amazon, or for advertisers whose target audiences overlap heavily with Amazon shoppers, this data layer adds targeting precision that general programmatic platforms cannot replicate.
On the CTV side, Amazon DSP provides access to Prime Video, Freevee, and Twitch, plus programmatic reach on third-party CTV publishers. Prime Video is now one of the most-watched ad-supported streaming services in the US following the launch of its ad-supported tier.
Amazon DSP typically requires higher minimum spend levels and operates primarily through managed service, though self-serve access is expanding.
Best for: CPG, consumer electronics, and DTC brands sold on Amazon. Advertisers who want to reach Amazon shoppers across streaming TV.
The Trade Desk
The Trade Desk is the dominant independent DSP for programmatic CTV buying. Its reach across Disney, NBCU, Peacock, Hulu, Paramount, and other major streaming publishers, combined with its UID2 identity framework for cross-device household targeting, makes it the default for agencies managing large-scale CTV campaigns.
The Trade Desk does not offer self-serve access. All buying goes through agencies or managed service partners. Its take rate on media spend is higher than most alternatives.
The platform’s breadth of inventory, identity resolution capability, and reporting tools are the strongest in the market for advertisers with the scale and agency relationships to access them.
Best for: Enterprise advertisers and agencies running large-scale CTV campaigns that need broad inventory access and advanced audience targeting.
Spotify Advertising
Spotify Advertising gives advertisers access to Spotify’s streaming audio and video inventory. Spotify reaches a large audience across music, podcasts, and audiobooks, and its streaming context is complementary to CTV rather than competing with it: the same household reachable on a streaming TV service at night is also reachable on Spotify while commuting or exercising.
Spotify inventory is available programmatically through Spotify Ad Exchange, which is accessible via supported DSPs including The Trade Desk and DV360. Direct buying is also available through Spotify’s Ads Manager for advertisers who want to buy without going through a DSP.
Contextual targeting by listening moment (Driving, Exercise, Gaming, Chill) lets advertisers match message to context in ways that display or CTV targeting does not offer.
Best for: Advertisers who want to extend reach beyond CTV into streaming audio. Podcast advertisers who want programmatic buying. Campaigns targeting specific listening moments or contexts.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Platform | Access Model | Self-Serve | Key Advantage | Best Fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vibe (Walmart Connect) | Self-serve + retail media | Yes | Walmart shopper data + CTV | CPG/retail brands, entry-level CTV |
| tvScientific | Self-serve | Yes | Outcome-based optimization | Performance marketers, agencies |
| Tatari | Managed + self-serve | Partial | Cross-channel linear + CTV measurement | DTC, growth-stage brands |
| Simulmedia | Managed | No | Linear-to-CTV audience extension | Linear TV advertisers expanding to streaming |
| Roku Ads | Self-serve + managed | Yes | Roku first-party audience data | Brands targeting Roku’s device base |
| Amazon DSP | Managed (expanding) | Limited | First-party purchase data | Brands sold on Amazon, CPG |
| The Trade Desk | Agency/managed | No | Broadest CTV inventory, UID2 identity | Enterprise, agency-managed campaigns |
| Spotify Advertising | Self-serve + DSP | Yes | Streaming audio + contextual targeting | Audio/podcast reach alongside CTV |
Methodology
Platform capabilities are sourced from published vendor documentation and public announcements as of July 2026. The Walmart/Vibe acquisition figure ($1.4B) is from press reporting, June 2026. Pricing details are not published by most vendors; contact each platform directly for current rates. We do not accept payment to rank platforms in this comparison.
Is your company missing from this comparison, or has something changed? Suggest an edit or get your product listed, or email our team at [email protected].
References
- tvScientific. "Self-Serve CTV Advertising." tvScientific, 2026.
- Tatari. "TV Advertising for Growth Brands." Tatari, 2026.
- Simulmedia. "TV Advertising Platform." Simulmedia, 2026.
- Roku Advertising. "Reach Streaming Audiences." Roku, 2026.
- Amazon Advertising. "Amazon DSP." Amazon, 2026.
- The Trade Desk. "Connected TV Advertising." The Trade Desk, 2026.
- Spotify Advertising. "Streaming Audio and Video Ads." Spotify, 2026.
- Walmart. "Walmart Acquires Vibe.co." Walmart Corporate, June 2026.