CTV (Connected TV) Advertising Specifications

Access the most inventory with the right formats. If using third-party creatives instead of hosted, include a media file for each spec type to reach the most Connected TV inventory.

VAST Bid Responses

Most CTV inventory will only accept VAST 2.0. For best results, the Geaux Grow team works directly with publishers to confirm media file requirements.

CTV/OTT Specifications

File Type: .MP4
Resolution: 1920x1080
Bitrate Range: 15,000 kbps to 30,000 kbps (minimum 18k kbps to run on DirecTV)
Maximum File Size: 10 GB or less
Frame Rate (FPS): 23.98 or 29.97
Audio Sample Rate: 48 kHz
Audio Bit Rate Minimum Threshold: 192 kbps

Hulu-Specific Requirement

Hulu-hosted videos must have a minimum bitrate of 15,025 kbps.

Details

A constant frame rate is required — no telecine, interlacing, or duplicate frames.

Frame rate is simply how many frames are played per second.

Telecine refers to footage converted from its native or source rate (for example, 24 frames per second) to broadcast or another rate by inserting a duplicate frame every fourth frame, or by blending or interlacing every third frame together.

Maximum file size is determined by multiplying the duration of the media by its bitrate. For example: 30 seconds x 15,000 kbps = 450 MB, or 0.45 GB.

Publisher-Specific Requirements

Reach out to Geaux Grow for the latest publisher-specific specs, including:

Interactive Video Units

Brightline (SpotX) can support interactive units, and Roku has an in-house team available to help with these particular forms of CTV creative.

Cross-Channel Verification

If your creative doesn't meet one or all of the platform's requirements, you'll see a recommendation for how to meet them in the Cross Channel Verification section of the Creative Details page (accessed by clicking on an individual creative in the Creatives Library). For example, in the image below, the uploaded creative isn't 1080p, so the recommendation is to add a 1080p MP4 media type to maximize reach for CTV ad groups.

The platform does not upscale, upsample, or stretch uploaded video assets — always upload the highest quality file you have available.

CTV creatives can be first-party or third-party hosted. It's important to note that CTV devices do not support clicking through to a landing page. A click-through URL can be set up if you're running on full-episode player inventory (desktop or mobile), but not when running only on CTV device inventory.

Go-Live Check

If your CTV ad group includes at least one private contract, an additional creative check runs when the ad group is enabled (that is, when it "goes live"). This check verifies the ad group's creative format meets the private contract publisher's requirements.

External Nielsen DAR Reporting

If you enable Nielsen DAR reporting (only available when targeting Roku devices), information about your campaign is automatically sent to Nielsen, and your Nielsen DAR report is generated once it's ready.

To use external Nielsen DAR reporting instead, you'll need to manually add a third-party impression pixel to each of your CTV creatives. This ensures the information gathered during your campaign is sent to Nielsen and entered into their report.

To add your third-party impression pixel to the creative, navigate to the Creatives Library and click + New Creative to start the Add Creative wizard. Once you reach the Tracking & Declarations screen, add your third-party Nielsen impression tracker into one of the third-party tracking tag fields.