At Convergent TV World, Craig Chinn, senior vice president of global advertising sales at TiVo Ads, shared insights from our latest research, “Understanding the CTV Home Screen’s Role Across the Full Funnel,” exploring where the viewer journey truly begins. And the answer is shifting.
For years, the industry has anchored itself around content — ads sit within it, measurement is built around it, and planning starts with it. But that assumption no longer reflects how people actually watch TV. Today’s viewer doesn’t “tune in.” They navigate, browse, and move fluidly between apps, devices, and environments — often within the same day. Turning on the TV has become a decision-making moment, not a passive one, and what’s emerging is a new starting point that exists before content is even selected.
When a viewer lands on the TV home screen, they’re faced with a moment of high attention and intent — a “blank slate” where discovery happens. As Craig put it, “you’re not interrupting something someone is already watching — you’re influencing what they choose to watch in the first place.” That shift from interruption to influence is significant, yet much of the industry is still catching up.
While consumers have embraced a fragmented, discovery-led journey across FAST, AVOD, SVOD, and OEM platforms, many marketers are still applying legacy planning approaches. At the same time, CTV is evolving beyond its traditional role in the funnel. Increasingly, it’s being used not just for awareness, but to drive consideration, intent, and even action — prompting a new question: not just who saw the ad, but what they did next.
At the center of this evolution is the TV home screen — no longer just a functional interface, but an emerging media layer. It’s dynamic, curated, and increasingly commercially relevant, offering brands a new way to reach audiences at a critical decision point. While challenges remain around measurement and standardization, the opportunity is clear: to drive true incrementality by engaging audiences at a moment that has historically been out of reach. As the ecosystem continues to evolve, the focus will shift toward more seamless, native interactions within the TV environment — always grounded in one principle: if it doesn’t work for the consumer, it won’t work for the advertiser.
Watch the full session here:
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