How “Free” TV Ad Credits Are Costing You More Than You Think

By Amit Sharan, SVP Marketing, Tatari TV

Every retail marketer knows the math behind a BOGO promotion. You discount strategically, move inventory, and still protect your margin. You’d never run a buy-one-get-one (BOGO) promotion where you actually lose money—that’s Marketing 101.

So why are so many experienced marketers falling for the exact same tactic when TV ad platforms offer match-spend credits?

Loss Aversion: The Hidden Cost of Free Media

As performance marketers look beyond saturated digital channels, connected TV has become the new frontier. Programmatic platforms—many flush with venture funding or backed by their public parent company’s balance sheet—are capitalizing on this appetite with an irresistible hook: spend $10,000, get $10,000 in free ad credits.

Loss aversion makes the pain of missing ‘free’ money feel worse than the risk of overpaying. It’s why consumers buy unnecessary items just because they’re on sale.

For brands testing TV for the first time, it sounds like a risk-free entry point. For those scaling up, it looks like instant efficiency gains. The pitch is simple and the decision seems obvious—who turns down free media?

But here’s the uncomfortable truth for retail and ecommerce marketers: these platforms aren’t charities. They’re not giving away inventory at a loss any more than you’re losing money on your BOGO deals.

The Real Math Behind “Free” Credits

Let’s break down what’s actually happening when you accept that match-spend offer.

If a platform can afford to give you $10,000 in “free” inventory and still remain profitable, they’re not delivering $10,000 in actual media value on your initial spend. They’re likely delivering closer to $4,000. When they “match” with another $10,000, you’re really getting another $4,000 in value—bringing your total to $8,000 in real media for your $10,000 investment.

The platform still makes money. You just paid a 20% premium disguised as a 100% bonus.

And that’s the optimistic scenario—it assumes you’re getting quality inventory. The reality is that some of these platforms don’t share publisher-level reporting, and they recoup costs through lower-grade placements, hidden fees, or poor viewability.

The promotional period ends, and most marketers continue with the same partner out of inertia. Switching costs feel high, and there’s comfort in the familiar dashboard. But now you’re still paying $10,000 for $4,000 in media—except without the theatrical generosity. You’ve been locked in at inflated rates using the oldest trick in your own playbook.

Overpaying Breaks Your Attribution

This pricing opacity doesn’t just affect your media budget—it fundamentally undermines your ability to measure TV performance accurately.

When you’re overpaying for impressions but don’t know it, your attribution models can’t distinguish between genuine creative underperformance and structural cost inefficiency. You might kill a winning creative because the CPMs were marked up 150%. You might scale a mediocre campaign because discounted trial pricing temporarily masked poor performance.

Worse, you’re making strategic decisions about channel allocation based on corrupted data. TV might be outperforming paid social, but you’ll never know if you’re comparing apples to Erewhon strawberries.

Demand Transparency, Not Discounts

The solution isn’t avoiding incentives; it’s demanding the same transparency you expect everywhere else in your media mix.

Work with partners whose incentives align with yours: getting you the lowest effective CPM that actually drives performance. That means transparent media pricing and clear descriptions of what you purchased, which allows you to cross-check that pricing should you ever be in doubt that you’re getting the best deal.

Ask potential partners directly: What CPMs am I actually paying? How do you make money? If they can’t or won’t answer clearly, that’s all you need to know.

The TV advertising landscape is evolving rapidly, and the opportunity is real. But the same critical thinking that makes you an effective marketer should apply when you’re the customer.

If the deal sounds too good to be true, it’s probably because you’re paying for it somewhere you can’t see.