From POSSIBLE Miami 2026: Why Scene-Level Targeting is Streaming TV’s Programmatic Sweet Spot

As streaming TV continues to evolve, one thing is clear: advertisers are demanding more precision, more visibility, and more measurable performance.

At POSSIBLE Miami 2026, Wurl’s VP of Advertising Partnerships, Ria Madrid, joined leaders from Yahoo, KERV, and Dentsu to explore how scene-level targeting is reshaping CTV advertising – and why it’s quickly becoming the programmatic sweet spot for brands looking to drive results on the biggest screen in the home.

The data gap holding back CTV performance

Despite the growth of streaming, panelists agreed that inconsistent and incomplete data remains one of the biggest barriers to programmatic CTV performance.

“So much that we do from a performance lens is a cycle. You make some decisions; you plan based on prior performance the different KPIs that you need to hit. That optimization cycle is so dependent on the data that we see,” said Emily Kennedy, EVP, Head of Partnerships at Dentsu. “And sometimes, that’s lacking right now in the digital CTV space.”

Without standardized, granular signals, advertisers are often forced to rely on assumptions – especially in live CTV environments, where scale is high but visibility is limited. “It can be really challenging to really understand the world in which our consumers are engaging with brands,” Kennedy added.

From the buy-side perspective, that lack of signal directly impacts optimization. “The more signal you can get your hands on, the more opportunity you have to optimize or understand the impact of that signal as it correlates to performance,” said Beau Ordemann, VP of Connected TV at Yahoo. “CTV as a channel – it’s getting better – but it’s pretty notorious for being pretty opaque.”

Closing that gap requires a shift from broad, incomplete signals to real-time, moment-level intelligence – and that’s where scene-level targeting comes in.

Moving beyond broad context in CTV advertising

For years, contextual targeting in CTV has relied on overly broad signals like genre or channel. But that approach misses what matters most: the moment.

“I liken traditional contextual to a very broad instrument where brands and advertisers can surround the content that they feel is collaborative with their story or their message or their brand,” said Lauri Baker, SVP, Head of Partnerships at KERV. “But what they’re missing – and the biggest gap currently with old school until now – is there’s no connection to the scene that the consumer just watched in order to make the message more relevant.”

A single show can shift from a calm, emotional moment to a high-intensity scene in seconds. Treating those moments the same limits both ad relevance and campaign performance.

The panelists discussed how scene-level targeting is changing that – enabling advertisers to align their creative with what’s happening on screen in real time. The result is a more seamless, engaging ad experience that feels like a natural extension of the content.

Why contextual alignment drives engagement and performance

The impact of contextual alignment is clear: relevance drives results.

“The best ad experiences are going to be those that feel like a natural extension of the content,” said Ordemann. “Context – it really matters and it’s been proven.”

In today’s fragmented media landscape, where attention is harder than ever to capture, aligning ads to the moment is critical. But, it’s not just about what someone is watching – it’s about how they’re experiencing it at that moment.

“We’ve spent so much [time] talking to brands and the industry around the power of audience and data, and knowing who your consumer is,” said Kennedy. “I think there’s a really powerful moment now where you start to take that with the context of which they’re viewing. […] The mindset really matters.”

That shift from audience-first to moment-and-mindset, panelists agreed, is what unlocks the next level of performance in streaming TV. When brands can align messaging with both the content and the viewer’s mindset, they create more relevant, resonant experiences that are far more likely to capture attention and drive results.

The future of streaming TV advertising

The future of streaming TV advertising isn’t just about reaching the right audience – it’s about reaching them at the right moment.

“I would love to see contextual be more of a forward-thinking tactic […] I would love to see more deterministic signals kind of take a front seat,” said Baker. “But, I don’t think it’s just the signal alone. […] When you can match the creative dynamically to the moment, that’s when the true magic also happens.”

As scene-level targeting continues to scale, advertisers will move beyond broad, event-based buying toward more precise, always-on engagement strategies that deliver stronger outcomes across the funnel.

For brands, the next step is to start operationalizing this shift – testing, learning, and building strategies that align creative, context, and timing in a more intentional way. “I would just encourage brands to make it part of their test-and-learn strategy, knowing the potential impact of contextual alignment and how much that influences attention and performance,” said Ordemann.

Ultimately, the evolution of streaming TV will be defined by how well the industry can connect these pieces – signals, context, and creative – into a cohesive strategy. The brands that succeed will be the ones that don’t just reach audiences, but meet them in the moments that matter most.