By Will Bachrach, CRO of Next Millennium Media
2026 represents a turning point for programmatic advertising, one defined not by consolidation, but by collaboration. According to IAB’s 2025 Digital Video Ad Spend and Strategy Report, 68% of advertisers now identify CTV as the most critical channel in their media mix, signaling a shift in how brands define performance and allocate budgets. As media dollars flow into connected TV (CTV) and high-quality digital environments, advertisers and publishers face both huge opportunities and steep operational challenges. Efficiency is finally within reach, but achieving it will demand real progress in AI readiness, transparency, and collaboration.
The industry’s next wave won’t be driven by another layer of intermediaries or minor algorithmic tweaks. Instead, it will be fueled by performance partnerships that turn trusted data into shared economic value.
CTV’s Performance Evolution
CTV has evolved from a branding-first medium to a performance channel where audience attention and measurable outcomes matter as much as reach. Over 90% of CTV advertising is already transacted programmatically, but the real story is not just scale, it is accountability.
However, major platforms like Roku and Amazon have created walled gardens, forcing inventory buys through their DSPs. This raises CPMs and reduces flexibility and transparency for advertisers. The solution is to partner strategically with multiple inventory sources outside these walled gardens to achieve scale, relevant content, lower CPMs, and transparency.
Attention-adjusted CPM deals are becoming standard, allowing advertisers to pay based on actual viewer engagement rather than mere impressions. Interactive ad units, particularly shoppable ads and pause ads, are gaining traction across both supply and demand sides. Combined with improving attribution through multitouch modeling and incrementality testing, CTV is positioning itself as a direct-response channel that happens to also build brands.
Revenue Optimization with AI
AI is driving the next wave of revenue strategy, powering predictive optimization that analyzes auction dynamics, automates bid adjustments, and reallocates spend across fragmented streaming inventory in real time.
Yet, for many publishers, AI remains as much a challenge as an opportunity. The leap from manual yield management to autonomous optimization requires clean, structured data, API-first infrastructure, and governance frameworks, resources that remain out of reach for many mid-market publishers. Without democratized access to these tools, the industry risks creating a two-tier system where only the largest players benefit from AI-driven optimization.
The technology gap between large streaming platforms and mid-market content owners is widening, underscoring the need for more accessible and transparent AI tools. In 2026, progress will be measured not only by adoption but by equity, whether AI optimization can truly empower the full range of publishers, not just the few with the deepest data and tech resources.
The outcome can be a performance engine that connects impressions to outcomes with greater precision and transparency. AI isn’t replacing strategic decision-making; it’s amplifying it, but only when the right foundation and governance are in place.
Building Strong Adtech Partnerships
Technology enables this evolution, but partnerships sustain it. In 2026, performance will depend as much on partnerships as on platforms. Advertisers, publishers, and intermediaries are realizing that shared data is the bridge between fragmented systems and unified results.
When both sides align around trusted metrics, attention, engagement, and conversion, they establish shared KPIs that drive mutual success. API-based infrastructures now enable programmatic guaranteed deals with less friction, eliminating many of the bottlenecks that once slowed premium transactions.
Consider the shift toward curated marketplaces: when publishers and advertisers co-define deal parameters, attention thresholds, brand-safety standards, and performance benchmarks, both sides gain. The publisher secures premium CPMs; the advertiser achieves measurable engagement. These models are already proving more effective than open auction buys in early industry tests.
Still, collaboration isn’t frictionless. Data-sharing hesitancy, legacy ad stacks, and inconsistent measurement standards continue to constrain transparency. The most effective performance partnerships in 2026 will be those that confront these issues head-on, understanding that technology is only as strong as the relationships behind it.
Unlike closed ecosystems that concentrate data and limit transparency, open programmatic partnerships emphasize shared visibility and flexible deal structures, creating value for both advertisers and publishers. The result: advertisers gain measurable results, while publishers capture fair value for premium, high-attention content. Mutual accountability remains the foundation, and cultivating that trust requires sustained effort, not just new software.
The Partnership Imperative
The infrastructure for performance-driven programmatic is already here. The question for 2026 isn’t whether performance partnerships will redefine the ecosystem; it’s who will lead the shift and who will be left behind.
- Advertisers: Start now by auditing your supply partnerships. Identify which publishers can support clean room integrations and attention-based measurement. Build those relationships before Q2 budget planning begins.
- Publishers: If your stack can’t support API-first execution or real-time reporting, you’re already at a disadvantage. Prioritize infrastructure investments or seek platform partnerships that can bridge the gap without requiring enterprise-level resources.
- Adtech Platforms: Interoperability isn’t a feature request anymore; it’s table stakes. If your system locks data in or limits portability, advertisers will route budgets elsewhere.
The tools are ready. The data exists. What’s missing is the willingness to move from transactional relationships to strategic partnerships. The companies that commit to transparency, shared accountability, and collaborative optimization in the first half of 2026 will define the second half of the decade.
The choice is simple: optimize together, or fall behind alone.
