1. Brands and Agencies: Leading with Demanding Standards

Brands and agencies play a key role in raising quality standards in the CTV ecosystem. They must lead with a demanding attitude, starting with the use of MRC-certified verification tools to validate ad delivery locations and block fraudulent impressions.

This rigor should extend across the entire supply chain, with an emphasis on transparency and visibility at every step. One of the most impactful actions is establishing direct relationships with the inventory owners, even in a programmatic buying context. This practice not only minimizes exposure to unreliable intermediaries, but also improves inventory traceability, enabling safer, more sustainable deals.

Internal teams must also be trained to understand risks, spot warning signs, and know how to respond to them.
And perhaps most importantly, common sense must prevail: if inventory that typically sells at a certain rate is offered at a suspiciously low price, it's worth questioning its legitimacy. Behind these "too-good-to-be-true" deals, fraud often lurks.

2. SSPs and Monetization Platforms: Controlling Inventory Origins

SSPs and monetization platforms play a critical role in protecting inventory quality. Their responsibility starts with implementing effective controls to prevent spoofing and invalid traffic—two of the most common forms of manipulation in CTV. This includes publishing and regularly updating sellers.json files and SupplyChain objects, both essential for buyers to verify legitimacy. Platforms must also ensure proper integration with SSAI (Server-Side Ad Insertion) technologies, making sure this does not become a blind spot for fraud, as has happened in many cases. These integrations should be supported by auditing systems that validate the actual traffic source and ad delivery environment. With these controls in place, SSPs can offer truly transparent and trustworthy inventory to Brands and Agencies.

3. DSPs and Ad Tech Platforms: Building Validation into the Buying Process

Demand-side platforms and ad tech solutions must act as the first line of defense against fraud. This means building in validation layers to detect and block suspicious inventory before it reaches advertisers. This validation should rely on both external verification tools and proprietary real-time analysis of traffic origin, environment quality, and data consistency. It is also crucial to prioritize inventory that complies with up-to-date technical standards such as VAST 4.2, OpenRTB 2.6, and properly implemented SupplyChain objects. These standards not only enhance transparency but also improve traceability in complex environments like CTV, where spoofing, manipulation, and unauthorized insertions are common threats.

4. Streaming Providers and Broadcasters: Transparency from the Source

As the starting point of the advertising supply chain in CTV, streaming providers and broadcasters have a decisive role in fraud prevention. Their first responsibility is to ensure that all tech partners—from content distribution to ad delivery—comply with strict security, traceability, and reporting standards. They must also take a proactive stance in defending inventory quality: not only correcting internal flaws but also sharing insights on suspicious behavior or anomalies with other ecosystem participants. This collaboration is essential to detect and neutralize threats that might otherwise circulate unchecked through opaque networks or unreliable partners. Transparency at the source is the foundation for a healthy CTV environment where quality and trust are the norm, not the exception.