How DV360 Provides Access to Connected TV (CTV) Inventory

How DV360 Provides Access to Connected TV (CTV)

Connected TV has moved from an emerging channel to a core line item in most video plans. Viewers have shifted to streaming, and advertisers want the sight-sound-motion impact of television with the addressability of digital. Display & Video 360 (DV360) sits at the centre of this shift, giving buyers a single platform to reach CTV audiences across Google-owned properties, publisher apps and premium marketplaces.

This guide explains exactly how DV360 connects you to CTV inventory, the buying routes available, and how to structure campaigns so your budget lands on the right screens.

What counts as CTV in DV360?

In DV360 terms, Connected TV refers to video ads served to internet-connected television devices — smart TVs, streaming sticks, gaming consoles and set-top boxes. This is distinct from mobile in-stream or desktop video, even though all of them may run the same creative.

DV360 identifies these placements through device signals and inventory classifications, so you can isolate the living-room screen rather than lumping all video together. That distinction matters for planning, frequency management and reporting.

The Main Routes to CTV Inventory in DV360

DV360 gives you several complementary ways to buy CTV. Most mature strategies use a mix rather than relying on any single source.

1. YouTube and Google TV inventory

Because DV360 is part of the Google Marketing Platform, it offers integrated access to YouTube inventory — including YouTube viewed on the living-room screen through connected devices. YouTube on TV is one of the largest streaming surfaces available, and DV360 lets you buy it alongside your other CTV placements within the same insertion order.

Google TV and related Google-owned streaming surfaces also surface here, giving you a substantial base of authenticated, logged-in reach without leaving the platform.

2. Third-party publisher apps and streaming services

Beyond Google properties, DV360 connects to a wide range of third-party CTV publishers and ad-supported streaming apps through open and curated marketplaces. This is where broadcaster streaming apps, FAST (free ad-supported streaming TV) channels and independent streaming services become available for programmatic buying.

Access typically flows through:

• Open exchanges — biddable CTV inventory available to eligible buyers.
• Curated marketplaces — pre-packaged inventory collections organised by content genre, publisher or quality tier.

3. Private deals and Programmatic Guaranteed

For premium CTV, deals are usually the preferred route. DV360 supports the full spectrum of deal types negotiated directly with publishers or sales houses:

Deal type	How it works	Best for
Programmatic Guaranteed	Fixed price, reserved inventory and volume	Guaranteed reach on premium streaming
Preferred Deals	Fixed price, non-guaranteed, first look	Priority access without full commitment
Private Auction	Invite-only auction among select buyers	Competitive access to quality supply

Deals give you transparency into the publisher and content environment — critical for CTV, where brand adjacency and premium context justify higher CPMs.

4. Open auction CTV

Open auction remains useful for scale and incremental reach, particularly across long-tail streaming apps. It offers less control than deals, so pair it with strong inventory controls and brand safety settings to keep quality high.

Setting Up CTV Campaigns in DV360

Accessing the inventory is only half the job. Structuring the campaign correctly determines whether you actually reach living-room audiences efficiently.

Isolate CTV from other video

Create dedicated line items or insertion orders for CTV rather than mixing it with mobile and desktop video. This lets you:

• Set CTV-appropriate CPM expectations and budgets.
• Apply device targeting to connected TV environments only.
• Report cleanly on CTV performance versus other video surfaces.

Use device and environment targeting

DV360 lets you target connected TV device types specifically. Combine this with inventory source selection (deals, marketplaces, exchanges) to control where impressions land.

Match creative to the format

CTV is a lean-back, full-screen, often non-skippable environment. Upload high-resolution video assets that meet publisher specs, and remember that most CTV impressions are non-clickable — so measurement should focus on reach, completion and downstream outcomes rather than clicks.

Targeting CTV Audiences

One of DV360's advantages for CTV is combining premium video with data-driven targeting. Depending on the inventory source and available signals, you can layer:

• First-party data through audience lists onboarded into the platform.
• Google audiences such as affinity and in-market segments where supported.
• Contextual and content-genre targeting via curated CTV marketplaces.
• Frequency management across devices to avoid over-serving the same household.

Signal availability varies by inventory type — logged-in Google surfaces support richer addressability than some third-party open-exchange supply — so plan targeting expectations against each source. If you want help mapping audience strategy to available CTV supply, our DV360 managed services team works through this regularly.

Measuring CTV Performance

CTV measurement differs from standard display or web video. Because there is rarely a click and the device may be shared across a household, focus your KPIs accordingly.

Useful metrics and approaches include:

• Completion rate (VCR) — a core signal of attention on non-skippable formats.
• Unique reach and frequency — deduplicated across devices where possible.
• Viewability and valid-impression checks through supported verification partners.
• Incrementality and brand lift studies for upper-funnel objectives.
• Cross-device conversions where a CTV exposure influences a later action on another device.

Because DV360 is part of the Google Marketing Platform, connecting reporting across your video, display and analytics stack is more straightforward than stitching together disconnected point tools. For a deeper look at connecting the platform, see our blog for related guides.

Keeping CTV Inventory Safe and Premium

CTV commands premium pricing, so protecting spend is essential. In DV360 you should:

• Prefer deals and curated marketplaces for the bulk of premium budget.
• Apply inventory source and app-level controls to exclude low-quality supply.
• Use brand safety and suitability settings appropriate to the living-room environment.
• Monitor for inventory that misrepresents CTV device type in open auction.

A disciplined mix of controlled deal-based buying and carefully filtered open supply gives you both quality and scale.

Choosing the Right Access Model

How you access DV360 itself affects how easily you can activate CTV. Buyers generally choose between running the platform in-house, using a partner seat, or a managed engagement:

• Self-serve suits teams with in-house programmatic expertise. Explore our DV360 self-serve account option.
• Managed or co-managed models add specialist support for deal negotiation, trafficking and optimisation — useful when CTV is new territory. Compare approaches across our services.

The right model depends on your team's experience, the complexity of your CTV deals, and how hands-on you want to be with day-to-day optimisation.

Bringing It Together

DV360 provides access to Connected TV through a layered approach: integrated YouTube and Google TV inventory, third-party publisher apps via open and curated marketplaces, and premium private deals including Programmatic Guaranteed. The platform's real strength is combining that supply breadth with data-driven targeting, cross-channel frequency control and unified measurement inside the Google Marketing Platform.

To get the most from it, isolate CTV in your campaign structure, prioritise deals for premium reach, layer audiences thoughtfully against each supply source, and measure against completion, reach and incrementality rather than clicks.

Ready to Activate CTV in DV360?

If you want to build a CTV strategy that balances premium reach with efficient spend, our team can help you structure deals, set up campaigns and get measurement right from day one. Talk to a DV360 expert and we'll help you put your Connected TV plan into action.