Truthset Report: Bad Data Will Cost CTV Advertisers $7.4 Billion in 2026

A new report from data intelligence firm Truthset finds that advertisers will waste a staggering $7.4 billion in the connected TV market in 2026—wiping out roughly 40% of all open programmatic ad spend—because the underlying audience data is deeply unreliable.

• A house of cards: The waste is driven by the industry's reliance on unstable identity signals to target audiences. The report highlights just how shaky these foundational tools are, finding that the core method of linking an IP address to a physical home is accurate only 13% of the time.

• Flying blind: “If marketers can’t rely on the data guiding their decisions, they’re flying blind,” said Scott McKinley, CEO of Truthset, in a statement. “Truthset exists to change that by restoring confidence, accountability, and profitability to the digital ecosystem.”

• The rich get richer: The accuracy crisis disproportionately hurts players on the open internet, especially free, ad-supported services that lack authenticated user data. They are left trying to monetize audiences with shaky signals, while walled gardens like Amazon and Google capitalize on the chaos, leveraging their vast, accurate troves of first-party data to command vastly higher ad prices.

The report serves as a stark warning for the CTV industry. Without a fundamental improvement in data quality, the channel's core promise of precision targeting is at risk, leaving advertisers to question the true value of their investments.