Pixalate Reports Nearly One-Quarter of CTV Traffic Is Fraudulent

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CTV fraud is a major problem.

A new report by Pixalate finds that the invalid traffic (IVT) rate—defined by the MRC as any ad traffic that fails to meet quality or legitimacy standards, including traffic that is incomplete, fraudulent, or otherwise not representative of real user activity—for CTV apps now sits at 22%. 

That seems… high!

On the bright side, the IVT rate is in line with the overall market, which is 23% globally. According to Pixalate, APAC leads in fraudulent traffic for CTV, with a rate of 34%. 

The numbers cover Q3 — see the full report here, which also covers web and mobile. 

Why This Matters:

If 22% of CTV traffic is invalid, that means a lot of wasted money. According to the IAB, CTV ad spend grew 12% this year, but the high fraud rate effectively cancels out that growth as budgets are siphoned off by IVT.

Fraud on this scale undermines advertiser confidence and it raises concerns about transparency and accountability in CTV. For brands, it means less ROI, while, for platforms and publishers, it highlights the urgent need for better quality control and safeguards to fight back against fraudsters. 

Without addressing these problems, the long-term credibility of CTV as an ad channel could be at risk.

Experts React:

Unrelated to the report, Matt Barash shared a well-timed thread on CTV fraud on X today, predicting that 2025 will see “widespread CTV fraud… be exposed and the industry is forced to redefine the concepts of value.”

In response, The Trade Desk’s Jud Spencer pointed to “second-tier SSPs” as a major factor contributing to CTV fraud (among others). 

The thread is well worth your time. 

Our Take:

CTV’s IVT rate is higher than mobile app and web (desktop + mobile), which makes sense given that it’s a newer medium. Still, these numbers are undeniably bad.

A thought: Could The Trade Desk make a play to address this issue with Ventura? They emphasized supply chain transparency, reducing hops, and overall efficiency when launching Ventura. Perhaps, unlike other CTV operating systems, they could more directly work on a “fix,” alongside verification players like Pixalate and DoubleVerify. 

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