Nielsen's Gracenote debuts program-level ad targeting for streaming TV

Nielsen's Gracenote launched Gracenote Content Connect on December 4, 2025, introducing a platform that enables agencies, brands, supply-side platforms, and demand-side platforms to execute program-level advertising targeting across connected television environments. The announcement marks a significant infrastructure development for an industry where contextual targeting at the program level received only 9.2% prioritization from media executives despite widespread effectiveness challenges.

The new platform provides direct access to Gracenote's standardized program-level metadata, facilitating precise ad targeting, campaign performance optimization, and transparent post-campaign reporting across streaming television inventory. Media buyers can access the platform directly for hands-on creation of private marketplace and programmatic guaranteed deals, or leverage partner SSPs and DSPs to create, manage, and activate deals through existing workflows.

Gracenote Content Connect taps into the company's proprietary content ID graph, which comprises standardized program metadata organized in structured taxonomy and connected by unique identifiers known as TMS IDs. This standardization addresses a critical challenge in fragmented streaming environments where shows appear across multiple ad-supported CTV platforms and services. The system ensures both ad buyers and sellers use common language when discussing programming, eliminating confusion that has historically complicated programmatic transactions.

"Gracenote data is widely recognized as the media industry's gold-standard for powering consumer entertainment search and discovery broadly," said Kanishk Prasad, VP of Product at Gracenote. "By opening up access to content-based signals which enable smarter CTV ad targeting and better campaign performance, we're taking a big step towards giving advertisers transparency, control and maximum scale across all CTV platforms."

The platform provides visibility into key content signals including genre, rating, and mood, enabling users to bid on CTV inventory and target messages at the program level. This granular control addresses brand safety concerns while ensuring privacy-compliant placements that still deliver the scale necessary to meet campaign objectives. Advertisers can execute targeting strategies without relying on individual viewer identification, an approach gaining urgency as privacy regulations restrict traditional audience-based targeting methods.

The announcement builds upon Gracenote's established position powering entertainment search and discovery capabilities that help platforms drive user engagement with personalized programming. The company's content metadata and TMS IDs have become deeply embedded in the media ecosystem and are relied upon by leading publishers for fundamental content organization and discovery functions.

Recent research from Gracenote revealed strategic misalignment between campaign objectives and execution tactics across the CTV advertising sector. The survey of 600 U.S. brand and agency executives conducted between July 10-20, 2025, found that while media professionals prioritize brand awareness as their top CTV objective, most continue relying on narrow audience-based targeting methods better suited for performance marketing. Demographic targeting topped the list at 29.5% importance, while contextual targeting at the program level received minimal prioritization despite addressing multiple challenges respondents identified.

The effectiveness gap appears substantial. The survey found 32% of respondents consider their CTV advertising "not very effective," with only 27.8% rating it "extremely effective." These metrics suggest significant room for improvement in campaign execution strategies, particularly as CTV's share of media budgets doubles from 14% in 2023 to 28% in 2025.

Industry professionals have identified CTV's unique measurement and targeting challenges. Vlad Chubakov, Associate Director of Programmatic at Delve Deeper, outlined in a November 4, 2025 LinkedIn post how advertisers frequently mishandle connected television campaigns by applying display and video web strategies to fundamentally different streaming environments. His analysis emphasized that running open-market campaigns without inventory curation typically serves advertisements on FAST channels with massive supply volumes but limited quality control.

Chubakov recommended advertisers whitelist desired inventory at minimum, or preferably execute Private Marketplace deals or Programmatic Guaranteed arrangements directly with inventory providers. This recommendation aligns precisely with Gracenote Content Connect's flexible workflow options, which enable both direct platform access for hands-on deal creation and partner-mediated execution through existing SSP and DSP relationships.

The launch follows several major contextual targeting initiatives across the streaming advertising ecosystem. IPG Mediabrands and Acxiom unveiled Acxiom Contextual CTV powered by IRIS_ID on August 19, 2025, marking the first time a global holding company deployed a contextual solution built specifically for Connected TV advertising. That solution features a detailed taxonomy of over 1,200 content categories, enabling real-time contextual targeting across the streaming ecosystem with greater precision and scale.

Magnite partnered with Anoki on June 5, 2025, to become the first supply-side platform offering scene-level contextual targeting capabilities through multimodal artificial intelligence analysis. The ContextIQ platform examines scene composition, emotional sentiment, and brand safety parameters within CTV environments, generating metadata that describes contextual characteristics of individual scenes rather than just program-level categorization.

Nielsen's broader measurement modernization efforts support Gracenote's new platform. The measurement provider transitioned away from panel-only television ratings in January 2025, implementing Big Data + Panel measurement that combines traditional panel data with information from millions of connected devices. Index Exchange became the first SSP to integrate Gracenote contextual intelligence on September 16, 2025, embedding brand safety segments and granular Do-Not-Air controls directly into its platform.

The streaming ecosystem's complexity creates mounting challenges for advertisers managing reach, frequency, and measurement across platforms. With CTV representing 41% of total viewing time and more than 85% of U.S. households streaming, advertisers face fragmentation that makes consistent campaign planning and measurement difficult. Research indicates streaming usage has increased 71% since May 2021, when Nielsen's The Gauge first launched, with six additional streaming services now exceeding a full share point of TV usage.

Retail media networks and CTV platforms are converging through data-driven targeting capabilities. According to IAB Europe analysis published November 6, 2025, retail media advertising spend on connected television is projected to grow three times faster than retail media search, signaling substantial shifts toward video-based commerce advertising. This acceleration reflects advertiser demand for combining retail data precision with television's reach capabilities.

The technical infrastructure supporting contextual CTV advertising continues expanding rapidly. Seven major video ad servers including Google Ad Manager, FreeWheel, Publica, SpringServe, Adtelligent, Aniview, and Project Limelight have positioned themselves across the Connected TV advertising landscape with specialized capabilities targeting different publisher segments. Gracenote Content Connect fits into this ecosystem by providing the standardized content data layer that enables these platforms to execute more sophisticated targeting strategies.

Privacy considerations drive substantial portions of contextual targeting adoption. Research shows 54% of mobile impressions now lack identifier coverage, forcing marketers to adopt new strategies. Contextual targeting emerges as the primary solution for 41% of marketers, slightly outpacing first-party data strategies at 40%. Content-based targeting alternatives eliminate reliance on individual user tracking mechanisms while maintaining targeting precision through program-level metadata.

Microsoft quietly launched Premium Streaming campaigns on August 4, 2025, enabling advertisers to place broadcast-quality video advertisements across premium streaming services including Netflix, Roku, Paramount, LG, Samsung, and Rakuten. The platform's three-tier quality system provides clear pathways for advertisers to access premium inventory while encouraging higher production standards through better placement eligibility.

Measurement capabilities have evolved alongside targeting infrastructure. Teads launched deterministic CTV measurement on October 23, 2025, introducing tracking capabilities for site visits, leads, and sales directly tied to CTV exposure. The solution uses proprietary algorithms and household graphs for cross-device measurement, addressing fragmentation challenges that have limited CTV effectiveness.

The programmatic infrastructure supporting CTV advertising continues maturing. Recent PPC Land coverage indicates 72% of marketers plan to increase programmatic investment, with CTV representing a primary growth driver. Nielsen integrated attention metrics with reach data through partnership with Adelaide on October 7, 2025, introducing unified measurement approaches that gauge both audience reach and media attention simultaneously.

Gracenote's content metadata already powers fundamental infrastructure across the media ecosystem. Major publishers rely on TMS IDs for search and discovery capabilities that help platforms surface relevant content to viewers. The company's database covers entertainment industry insights spanning millions of titles across hundreds of streaming catalogs, providing comprehensive coverage that enables standardized program identification across fragmented platform environments.

The platform will preview on an appointment-only basis at CES running January 6-8, 2026, providing industry professionals their first hands-on experience with the new targeting capabilities. This preview timing positions the platform for broader market adoption ahead of the 2026 upfront marketplace, where advertising inventory for the next television season is traditionally negotiated.

Professional audience targeting through contextual data represents growing opportunity as B2B decision-makers increasingly consume video content across multiple devices. Innovid expanded LinkedIn integration for CTV advertisingon July 22, 2025, enabling unified campaign management across social and CTV channels through standardized workflows that leverage professional demographic data.

The announcement comes as Connected TV advertising spending approaches substantial growth milestones. Industry projections indicate CTV advertising will continue expanding as audiences migrate from traditional linear television to streaming platforms. The introduction of standardized program-level targeting capabilities through Gracenote Content Connect potentially enables more sophisticated campaign optimization within this rapidly growing channel.

Timeline

• October 1, 2025 — Gracenote releases report showing only 9.2% of media executives prioritize contextual targeting at program level despite 32% finding CTV ineffective
• June 5, 2025 — Magnite partners with Anoki to enable scene-level targeting capabilities, becoming first SSP with multimodal AI analysis for CTV
• August 19, 2025 — IPG Mediabrands launches Acxiom Contextual CTV powered by IRIS_ID, marking first global holding company deployment of CTV-specific contextual solution
• September 16, 2025 — Index Exchange becomes first SSP to integrate Gracenote contextual intelligence with brand safety segments and Do-Not-Air controls
• November 4, 2025 — Industry expert warns advertisers against treating CTV like display campaigns, recommending Private Marketplace and Programmatic Guaranteed deals
• October 23, 2025 — Teads launches deterministic CTV measurement tracking site visits, leads, and sales tied to CTV exposure
• November 6, 2025 — IAB Europe analysis reveals CTV advertising spend on retail media projected to grow three times faster than retail media search
• December 4, 2025 — Nielsen's Gracenote launches Content Connect platform enabling program-level targeting with standardized metadata access for agencies, brands, SSPs, and DSPs
• January 6-8, 2026 — Gracenote will preview Content Connect platform on appointment-only basis at CES

Summary

Who: Nielsen's Gracenote, the content data business unit powering consumer entertainment search and discovery, launched the platform. The company provides standardized program metadata and TMS IDs relied upon by leading publishers across the media ecosystem. Kanishk Prasad serves as VP of Product at Gracenote.

What: Gracenote Content Connect provides agencies, brands, supply-side platforms, and demand-side platforms easy access to standardized program-level metadata for precise CTV ad targeting. The platform features flexible workflows enabling direct hands-on deal creation or partner-mediated execution through SSPs and DSPs. The system taps Gracenote's proprietary content ID graph with standardized metadata organized in structured taxonomy and connected by unique TMS IDs, providing visibility into content signals including genre, rating, and mood.

When: Nielsen's Gracenote announced the launch on December 4, 2025. The platform will preview on an appointment-only basis at CES running January 6-8, 2026.

Where: The platform operates across connected television environments, providing standardized metadata for ad targeting across multiple ad-supported CTV platforms and streaming services. Implementation occurs through direct platform access or via partner SSPs and DSPs within existing programmatic workflows.

Why: The launch addresses strategic misalignment in CTV advertising where 32% of media executives find campaigns ineffective while only 9.2% prioritize contextual targeting at the program level. The platform enables privacy-compliant program-level targeting that provides brand safety control while maintaining campaign scale, addressing fragmentation challenges across streaming environments where shows appear on multiple platforms. With CTV's share of media budgets doubling from 14% in 2023 to 28% in 2025 and 72% of marketers planning increased programmatic investment, standardized contextual targeting infrastructure becomes essential for effective campaign execution.