Campaign Trend Podcast

The CTV Debate: Who Should Own Your Campaign's Streaming Buy?

Eric Wilson Season 4 Episode 3

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0:00 | 25:08

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Connected TV spending is growing — but the real question in 2026 isn't whether campaigns should be buying CTV. It's who should be managing the buy.
Eric Wilson sits down with Chauncey Southworth, CEO of CrossScreen Media, to untangle the debate between TV buyers and digital buyers over who owns the streaming buy. Chauncey breaks down where the CTV growth is actually coming from (hint: down-ballot races are surging), why siloed buying is costing campaigns real money, and what questions every campaign should be asking their vendors right now.

They also dig into a striking stat from CrossScreen founder Michael Beach: linear TV viewers see over 13 minutes of ads per hour, while streaming viewers see fewer than 4. What does that mean for your creative strategy? And how should campaigns be thinking about the light viewers who are hardest to reach on any screen?

From supply path optimization to message testing to GOTV strategy for low-propensity voters, this is a conversation that will sharpen how you think about every dollar in your video budget.

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