The Invisible Friction in CTV Buying Today: Spectrum Reach Panel Tackles CTV’s Toughest Questions at Cannes
“If you’re buying direct from a large MVPD or streaming service that has a high-quality, authenticated user base, you’re buying against gold standard data - and everything else is essentially probabilistic…” -- John Watts, Managing Director, CIMM
That was one of many insights shared at The Invisible Friction in CTV Buying Today, a panel hosted by Spectrum Reach at this year’s Cannes Lions Festival. Hosted by Dan Callahan, Senior Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer at Spectrum Reach, the conversation brought together industry leaders from across the CTV ecosystem, including agencies, platforms, industry organizations, and data experts.
The panel included Jon Watts (Managing Director, CIMM), Mike Treon (Head of CTV & Video, PMG), David Cohen (CEO, IAB), Jean Fitzpatrick (Executive Vice President, Commercia Strategy, IPG Mediabrands), Bill Michels (Chief Product Offer, Gracenote), David Campanelli (President, Global Investment, Horizon Media), and Kasha Cacy (Chief Media Officer, Known). Together, they dug into the most pressing challenges and opportunities in the CTV space --from fragmentation and measurement, to content transparency, data signals, and ROI.
Panelists emphasized that CTV challenges are not limited to audience fragmentation or concerns over cost. As Watts noted, advertisers are increasingly focused on the quality of data behind their buys, and whether their partners can deliver outcomes with confidence.
The panel also surfaced other common pain points: uneven access to content signals, legal and operational barriers to that transparency, and the need for better cross-industry collaboration on measurement and identity.
The tone wasn’t just diagnostic, it was constructive, too. Leaders from both the buy and the sell sides agreed there is encouraging momentum toward standardizing data practices, improving interoperability, and fostering collaboration between buyers, sellers, and platforms.
Whether you’re navigating performance pressures or just looking to cut through the noise in CTV, this series delivers insights you can act on today. We’ve divided the full conversation into nine themed chapters, from buying behaviors and data signals to what’s working today. Watch the full series on Spectrum Reach’s YouTube Channel now.
Watch the full series below:
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The opinions expressed here are the author's views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillage.org/MyersBizNet.
