IAB NewFronts 2026: Streaming’s Performance Push Comes Into Focus

If last year’s IAB NewFronts were largely about scale, this year’s presentations focused on something more tangible: outcomes.

Across presentations from Samsung, LG, Vizio and Tubi, the narrative around CTV continued to shift away from traditional TV metrics like reach and frequency and more toward performance, i.e. conversions, commerce and measurable business results. The message to advertisers was less about the size of streaming audiences and more about what those audiences promise for their campaigns.

In other words, CTV has moved well beyond positioning itself as just a premium branding environment. It’s increasingly being framed as a performance channel.

Streaming Moves from Top Funnel to Bottom Funnel

One of the clearest themes at this year’s NewFronts was how aggressively streaming platforms are leaning into lower-funnel capabilities.

Shoppable ad formats, real-time measurement tools and retail data integrations were central to many of the announcements. The idea of adding a product to a cart directly from a TV screen, (once a novelty) is now being positioned as a core part of the CTV value proposition. So is the ability to tie ad exposure to online or in-store purchase behavior.

This reflects broader pressure across the advertising industry. Marketers are being asked to justify spend more rigorously, and channels that were once considered upper-funnel are increasingly expected to demonstrate performance. CTV, long buoyed by its association with premium video and brand-safe environments, is now moving more directly into that accountability conversation.

But performance advertising requires precision, and precision depends not just on scale, but on how inventory is packaged, activated and measured. Rather than buying individual apps or channels, buyers are increasingly looking for curated audiences that can be reached across multiple streaming environments. ElementalTV has long been leaning into this model, that calls for packaging inventory around identity-backed audience segments instead of individual endpoints - a structure that more closely mirrors how media buyers plan and allocate budgets.

FAST Moves Beyond The Content Library

For years, FAST was largely associated with library content and long-tail programming. But the NewFronts presentations made it clear that FAST platforms are investing heavily in original programming, live events, creator-led content and interactive experiences.

The strategy is straightforward: make FAST environments feel less like passive content libraries and more like active viewing destinations.

For advertisers, the appeal is tied to engagement and timing. Live events, creator-driven programming and culturally relevant content create moments where attention spikes, the same dynamics that historically made linear TV so valuable for advertisers.

The difference now is that those moments are distributed across a fragmented streaming landscape. The challenge, and opportunity, for the industry is aggregating that fragmented supply in a way that still delivers scale and simplicity for buyers. That’s one of the reasons more companies are investing in portfolio-level packaging and curated channel ecosystems, where multiple channels and content environments can be bought as part of a unified offering rather than as one-off deals.

A Market That’s Maturing,  And Getting More Demanding

Taken together, this year’s NewFronts presentations pointed to a CTV market that is maturing quickly.

Advertisers are asking tougher questions about outcomes. FAST platforms are working to differentiate themselves through content and experiences, not just scale. And the industry as a whole is moving toward packaging and selling inventory in ways that better align with how media is actually planned and bought, i.e. around audiences and outcomes rather than around individual apps and channels.

We truly believe the future of the streaming advertising will be defined less by who has the most content and more by who can make that content and inventory easiest for buyers to understand, access and measure.