CTV advertising options in Slovakia: overview of available solutions

Connected TV (CTV) advertising is becoming one of the fastest growing digital advertising formats. Thanks to the gradual growth in reach, CTV is gradually finding its place in advertisers' media plans in Slovakia as well. This article provides an overview of CTV advertising options in Slovakia, why to plan for it, evaluations of available publishers and recommendations for effective use of CTV inventory.

Disclaimer: I work for GroupM! 

What is CTV and have you heard of OTT? 

CTV (Connected TV) refers to devices that allow you to watch digital content via the internet on a big screen, such as smart TVs, streaming boxes or games consoles. CTV advertising is displayed directly on these TV devices in the form of video (pre-roll, mid-roll) or native formats (video and display) directly in the operating systems of the TV devices. CTV is thus a subset of OTT.

OTT (Over-the-Top) is a broader term that encompasses the distribution of video content over the Internet without the need for traditional cable or satellite providers. Examples of OTT platforms are Netflix, SkyShowTime, YouTube or local services such as JOJ Play and Voyo. OTT advertising can be displayed not only on CTV devices (in apps) but also on mobile, tablets and computers. So it's not purely about big screen TV devices.

Why include CTV in media strategy? 

A study from Lumen and Amplified Intelligence found that not all impressions are the same. Some advertising environments get more attention than others. 30-second TV ads scored the best ratings. Second place went to 15/20-second non-skippable YouTube ads, which averaged up to 43% of impressions on TV screens nationally. This also supports the importance of CTV advertising.

A more recent study from TVision and Double Verify from Q1 2024 compared Ad Attention in CTV inventory, Premium CTV inventory (apps that offer both ad-supported and ad-free subscription models) and on linear TV in the US. They found that the difference between CTV and traditional TV is minimal, specifically 51.5% versus 54.5%. Premium CTV with 56.1% already outperforms even linear TV. Moreover, the quality of CTV grew year-on-year and this is another argument in favor of CTV scheduling.

How does our Content Lead, ex Head of Strategy, see it?

"CTV advertising provides additional reach to people that linear TV doesn't reach, while retaining the audiovisual quality of the big TV screen. In addition, the online aspect of CTV advertising allows for personalized addressable campaigns, which traditional linear TV advertising cannot do" Branislav Marko says.

Rating of CTV advertising suppliers in Slovakia

Based on the analysis of available solutions (April 2025), we have evaluated the most prominent CTV advertising suppliers on the Slovak market. We took into account factors such as estimated reach, quality of inventory (whether it is pure CTV inventory or mixed e.g. with outstream), buying models, minimum budget requirements and other details.

• Google Ads (YouTube) 

YouTube offers different ad formats (Bumper, skippable instream, non-skippable instream) that can also be displayed on TV screens. However, YouTube inventory is not exclusively CTV, which means that a large portion of impressions come from mobile and desktop devices, depending on campaign optimization. Targeting purely TV devices is possible, but it increases the cost and decreases the reach. Despite this, YouTube has one of the highest digital TV impressions in the market (estimated at 560k per month).

Pros: large reach, flexibility of formats, favorable CPM

Cons: Limited to YouTube Inventory only (for now), does not allow buying on 100% of views viewed

• GroupM Nexus Media Solutions 

GroupM NMS offers an integrated solution that combines YouTube with other CTV video inventory (SkyShowTime, Sweet.tv, JoJ, Rakuten, Xiaomi TV+ and more). It is the only solution on the market that allows you to buy on a Cost Per Completed View (CPCV) basis, where you only pay for 100% of the completed views of a video ad, although you get many more impressions. With control over the entire set of CTV inventory, you are reaching users efficiently, with controlled frequency and avoiding unnecessary re-targeting of the same viewer. Campaigns can theoretically reach up to 700k people per month, with inventory being exclusively CTV video, with no combination with outstream or display formats.

Pros: integrated solution, CPCV buying model, high reach

Cons: slightly higher CPM than pure YT

• Teads 

Teads offers various CTV inventories such as LG, VIDAA OS, Whale OS (Philips TV). Although Teads can go CTV-only, it recommends omni-channel (or rather omni-device) solutions with outstream formats outside of TV devices, sometimes combined with display formats as well. The reason is simple, they need to increase reach because with pure CTV reach they only deliver to about 20-130k people per month, depending on inventory. Omni-device solution is fine, but here we are evaluating vendors primarily in terms of CTV hit. The downside is also the minimum investment requirements ranging from 2,500 Euros.

Pros: wide range of devices, flexible options

Cons: mixing CTV inventory with outstream advertising, minimum budgets

• Madhouse 

From a CTV perspective, Madhouse specializes in Samsung TV and SkyShowTime. Samsung TV has a decent theoretical “reach” of about 600k TV devices on paper, but since these are native ads directly in the Samsung TV OS, they are profiling themselves as a luxury space and are strictly picking and choosing the brands they will run there. Most FMCG brands don't get in, they prefer car companies, banks and luxury products. Moreover, they've adjusted the minimum budget required accordingly - you can't get in without a €15k/month investment.

Advertising reach on SkyShowTime is in the low 10's of thousands in Slovakia and given the subscriber numbers, that won't change in the near future. Being purely on SkyShowTime is more about prestige than effectiveness.

Pros: premium space

Cons: high prices and budget requirements

• JOJ a Markíza HBBTV 

Local TV platforms such as JOJ Play and Markiza HBBTV offer CTV-only inventory with a reach of 150k people and 250k TV devices respectively. CPMs are higher and inventory is susceptible to sell-out, as purchase can be tied to buying advertising on linear TV.

Pros: Pure CTV inventory

Cons: Relatively high CPM, susceptible to sell-out

• AdForm 

AdForm is a technology solution that enables programmatic buying of CTV advertising on multiple platforms (tivio, Prima+, SkyShowTime, Rakuten, JOJ Play, etc.). Inventory can also be video-only, but is subject to negotiation with providers. Prices depend on the agreed investment. The biggest drawback is the inability to buy Youtube Inventory, which is still only tied to Google products (for now).

Pros: flexibility, programmatic purchasing

Cons: no guarantees, dependence on agreements with partners. No YT Inventory

Recommendations for effective CTV video advertising 

1. Prefer integrated solutions: solutions like GroupM NMS or AdForm combine multiple CTV video inventories and efficiently manage frequency over the entire CTV campaign, reducing duplicate intervention.

2. Avoid mixed inventory: Platforms that combine CTV inventory with outstream formats or display will only partially take advantage of the big TV screen.

3. Pay for full ad delivery: prefer to buy on a 100% view-through rate.

4. Optimize budget: solutions without the need for minimum budgets, such as Google Ads (YouTube) or GroupM NMS, are suitable for smaller campaigns.

What is the future of CTV video advertising in Slovakia? 

Ads on streaming services such as Netflix and Max (HBO) are also expected to come to Slovakia. The EU is pushing YouTube to open up its space beyond Google Ads and DV360 to third parties. The opportunities to reach people who are hard to reach on linear TV will expand again. Are you ready for this?

Sources: Lumen research | Interné údaje GroupM NMS Slovakia za posledných 10 mesiacov od 6/24 do 3/25 na vzorke viacerých stoviek miliónov impresií | Tvisioninights