![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Wurl_CTVAdRequests-ContentLabels.png\")
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Wurl\u2019s analysis was limited to a two-hour window during a single prime-time evening in August 2026 across the platform\u2019s supply footprint, which includes Wurl-powered channels across LG Channels, Pluto TV, Samsung TV Plus and Tubi.<\/p>\n
So what gives? Well, the root issue seems to be a lack of standardization around content labeling.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a guy who has a legacy TV background \u2013 I come from the cable industry \u2013 historically, the metadata around content libraries is pretty inconsistent,\u201d said Dave Bernath, CEO of Wurl.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not sure what he means? Well, let me ask you this: Is \u201cThe Bear\u201d a drama or comedy? Anyone watching the show, especially the two most recent seasons, would probably say drama; I would say drama. And yet FX submits it in the comedy category for awards, right alongside ABC\u2019s \u201cAbbott Elementary,\u201d which is as traditional a comedy as they come.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Which gets at another problem with how CTV ad sellers label genre: The labels they append can be pretty broad. Of the 1.09 billion ad requests that did carry a genre label, 22% had what Wurl considered a vague genre label, such as \u201centertainment\u201d or \u201cgeneral variety.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
On the flip side, there can just be an overwhelming number of different genre labels appended to shows that can make it hard to reconcile them. During that two-hour window of Wurl\u2019s analysis, the company tallied more than 3,600 different genre labels.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This content classification confusion is exactly the thing that could derail the CTV ad industry\u2019s efforts to pass content signals. Over the summer, Comcast-owned (for now<\/a>) FreeWheel added show-level reporting<\/a> for advertisers using its platform. However, the company wasn\u2019t taking an active role in ensuring that ad buyers and sellers were using the same show naming conventions, which could nullify any attempts to match programs and provide accurate show-level reports.<\/p>\n If only there were a standard taxonomy for the CTV ad industry to rally around\u2026 Oh wait, there is.<\/p>\n In June 2022 \u2013 four years ago \u2013 IAB Tech Lab updated its Content Taxonomy<\/a> to include categories suited to CTV. And two years ago, it further refreshed the standard to add more genre categories, like \u201cThriller.\u201d And even then, it features only 704 categories<\/a>, one-fifth the number of unique genre labels Wurl had observed.<\/p>\n For its part, Wurl uses IAB Tech Lab\u2019s Content Taxonomy to undergird its classification system.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re using our machine learning, our content intelligence to analyze these streams and understand the metadata, the [electronic programming guide], to try to coalesce around the IAB standard genres specifically,\u201d Bernath said.<\/p>\n Why others aren\u2019t following suit is beyond me. Content owners are responsible for appending content labels to bid requests, Bernath said, so I asked him why they\u2019re missing the mark so often.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI would call it sort of historical metadata hangover,\u201d Bernath said.<\/p>\n That is to say, these content owners are sitting on large, dusty libraries of shows and movies. Those programs may have been originally categorized decades ago, and no one has reviewed them to see if the labels still hold up or need to be updated. And I guess no one has thought to throw the problem at Claude or ChatGPT. Sure, the AI tools could hallucinate categories, but then would that be worse than the current state of things?<\/p>\n What we\u2019ve heard<\/p>\n \u201cCreators don\u2019t produce a lot more when we pay compared to what they already create. And what we do find is often, not always, the incremental content they create is not as high quality as what they would have created or what they were already creating for free.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014 Instagram\u2019s Adam Mosseri explaining why Instagram doesn\u2019t operate a revenue-sharing program for creators<\/a><\/p>\n Numbers to know<\/p>\n 48 million:<\/a> Number of paid subscribers that Peacock had at the end of the third quarter of 2026.<\/p>\n 15.8%:<\/a> YouTube\u2019s share of TV-screen watch time in the U.S. in August 2026.<\/p>\n $12 million:<\/a> How much money creator-led news media company Newpress raised in its latest funding round.<\/p>\n 48%:<\/a> Percentage share of midterm election ad spending that is expected to go to broadcast TV.<\/p>\n -4.8%:<\/a> Percentage decline in LA-area film-and-TV shooting days in Q3 2026 versus a year ago.<\/p>\n What we\u2019ve covered<\/p>\n Midterm political spending throws spanner into regional advertiser holiday plans:<\/p>\n Political media spending in the run-up to November\u2019s midterm elections has inflated TV and streaming ad prices for regular advertisers.<\/p>\n Some $8.2 billion of the total $12 billion expected to be spent in the run-up to the midterm elections in November will go towards TV or CTV, according to AdImpact.<\/p>\n Read more about the midterms\u2019 effect on regional advertisers here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Creators say it\u2019s difficult to make money from news \u2014 with platform rules and brand guidelines:<\/p>\n Finding partnerships to sustain revenue can be difficult due to skittish brands, and finicky algorithms can make ad revenue unreliable.<\/p>\n Several of the five creators who spoke with Digiday said that TikTok has been rough since the U.S. ownership deal closed in January of this year.<\/p>\n Read more about news creators\u2019 monetization challenges here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Why CNN International is building for agentic ad market that barely exists yet:<\/p>\n Seven months after announcing the move, the network still has it on course to launch ad sales through AI agents in the first quarter of 2027.<\/p>\n The broadcaster is pairing its own agent infrastructure with outside technology partners and lining it up with industry frameworks.<\/p>\n Read more about CNN International\u2019s agentic ad plans here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Media buyers chart path for brands and sponsors through high NBA demand:<\/p>\n The new season is set to invite high spending on linear and streaming coverage, as well as paid social and creator activity for brands that find themselves locked out.<\/p>\n NBA sponsorship investments have been rising steadily in recent years.<\/p>\n Read more about NBA ad demand here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Creator mentors Colin and Samir want to turn their followers\u2019 ideas into productions:<\/p>\n The creator duo kicked off this initiative with a new sponsored creator program, called the Big Idea Fund, to bankroll projects from creators in their community.<\/p>\n Last week, in partnership with Adobe, they awarded creator Jackson Hughens a $25,000 grant to work on a five-part documentary series to live on YouTube.<\/p>\n Read more about Colin and Samir\u2019s Big Idea Fund here<\/a>.<\/p>\n What we\u2019re reading<\/p>\n Instagram\u2019s IGTV redo:<\/a><\/p>\n For anyone whose memory doesn\u2019t extend to pre-pandemic times, Instagram used to have this thing called IGTV<\/a> that let creators post horizontal videos<\/a> up to 60 minutes long<\/a>; it even tested an ad revenue-sharing option<\/a>. Anyway, Instagram is doing this again, but this time it\u2019s called Features, videos can be up to 90 minutes long, though no rev-share program, according to The Hollywood Reporter.<\/p>\n