📊 CTV in Russia Moves Beyond the Experimental Phase

However, further expansion is currently hindered by a lack of structured expertise among brands and the absence of unified industry standards for performance measurement.

The survey gathered insights from 102 Russian advertising market experts, including representatives from top advertisers, agency executives, and tech platforms. The study’s main takeaway shows near-unanimity across the industry regarding the segment’s trajectory: 89% of respondents report a steady increase in interest toward Connected TV over the past year. The era of initial technology adoption has drawn to a close; discussions about the technical capabilities of Smart TV and programmatic buying have been replaced by practical questions regarding media split integration and business outcomes.

The Investment Paradox

Despite high interest, actual budget dynamics reflect a mature caution within the market. The majority of players are hesitant to aggressively scale their investments before obtaining transparent ROI data:

• 29% of respondents plan to maintain budgets at 2025 levels;
• 18% have not yet made a final decision;
• 24% found it difficult to forecast;
• 12% are ready to increase spending by more than 50%;
• 12% project growth of up to 20%;
• 6% intend to scale budgets by more than 20%.

The most telling indicator of CTV’s stability is that not a single survey participant reported plans to cut investments. This confirms that brands have firmly cemented the channel into their media plans, aiming to build in-house expertise rather than simply test the format. The average projected growth for investments in the segment for 2026 stands at around 20%, with the influx of funds primarily driven by shifting existing digital and TV budgets rather than infusing new capital.

The Expertise Gap Between Agencies and Brands

Visible’s research revealed a profound cross-industry gap in evaluating efficiency and understanding the capabilities of Connected TV. While 75% of agency and platform representatives claim a high level of proficiency with the tool, only 42% of advertisers say the same (a 33-percentage-point gap). Furthermore, agencies estimate that 78% of their clients possess only a moderate understanding of CTV.

This imbalance is even more pronounced in performance evaluation. High scores of 4 and 5 (on a five-point scale) were awarded to the channel by 86% of ad agency representatives, whereas only 33% of brands expressed similar confidence. Agencies already view CTV as a proven performance and reach vehicle, while clients remain in the hypothesis-testing stage.

Analytics as the Primary Growth Barrier

Participants identified analytics challenges as the main bottleneck for market growth. Advertisers are demanding clear answers to classic questions typical of a mature medium: how CTV impacts direct sales, how to calculate incremental reach alongside linear TV and digital video, and which KPIs should be used as benchmarks. Currently, unified and verified data verification standards remain absent from the market.

At the same time, the strategic focus of Connected TV is shifting. Beyond traditional brand-building and securing high-quality completion rates on the big screen, nearly half of the market now links CTV usage directly to driving business metrics.

As Visible CEO Dmitry Solopov notes, the market has transitioned from testing to systemic planning, while the company’s CMO, Olga Avdonina, emphasizes that the industry’s key task for the near future is to convert established demand into deep brand expertise, which will ultimately unlock exponential growth for the segment.