The adtech tea is hot.
Right before The Trade Desk officially launched its smart TV OS, Ventura, who saw it coming? AdTech Congratulating Itself (@adtechbrags)—a must-follow anonymous X account. On November 19, they tweeted that TTD would be “reporting big news tomorrow.” Sure enough, Ventura was unveiled the next morning. That tip even led to our own scoop, when we spotted the announcement on The Current before anyone else.
Now, AdTech Congratulating Itself may be back with another scoop that bookends their original one. A few hours ago, they posted that TTD CEO Jeff Green “will take this one out back soon,” referencing alleged struggles with Ventura and the possibility that the company might shut it down. Here’s the full post—and to be clear, none of this is corroborated or confirmed:
According to the post, TTD has cut Ventura headcount, though that may reflect broader cuts announced along with its disappointing Q4 earnings. On that call, leadership did say they were taking steps to trim some staff.
That said, it’s true there have been no OEM deals yet, especially after the Sonos debacle. Meanwhile, Roku might have sniffed out the threat early and has been expanding access to its inventory and collaborating with more ecosystem players.
As for the mention of “shady data practices,” that’s unclear. We’ll leave that for others to unpack and speculate on.
Why This Matters:
It’s possible this is just speculation—we’ll have to wait and see. Keep in mind, when The Trade Desk announced Ventura OS on November 20, 2024, they gave themselves until the second half of 2025 for a full launch, so there’s still runway.
WIth that said, the core challenge remains: building a consumer-facing smart TV OS is no small feat for a company built around B2B tech and ad tech, specifically. And as many predicted, breaking into a hardware-driven ecosystem without established OEM partnerships is proving to be a steep climb.
Experts React:
Here’s what Jeff Green said during The Trade Desk’s strong Q1 earnings call:
“Let’s not forget something that we’ve asserted for the entirety of this decade—CTV is the kingpin of the open internet. And the open internet is where all of the most beloved content of the internet exists. The open internet monetizes movies, television, journalism, music, and sports.”
Notably, it doesn’t seem like Green mentioned Ventura at all during his prepared remarks. If AdTech Congratulating Itself ends up being right, that omission might have been a clue.
Our Take:
If Ventura does launch, it will still face the pretty big challenge of scaling, driving adoption, and actually winning over consumers. But perhaps we cross that bridge when we come to it. (Or if we come to it.)
