IAB Tech Lab Is Putting Names on CTV's Ad Formats
For years, the ads on a smart TV had no shared vocabulary. One platform called something a "pause ad," another called the same thing a "pause takeover," and a buyer trying to run one campaign across both had to build it twice. IAB Tech Lab is closing that gap. Its CTV Ad Portfolio defines six connected-TV ad formats by name, with shared specs for how each one looks and how it gets bought and sold. The guidelines went out for public comment in December 2025, and after a round of feedback they reopened for a second comment window that runs through July 16, 2026. A separate spec covering how these formats get signaled programmatically went out for comment in mid-2026. So this is live, and still open enough that the details can move.
If you run a streaming channel, sell inventory on one, or buy CTV ads, these are the six names worth knowing.
The Six CTV Ad Formats
Pause ads
A pause ad appears when a viewer hits pause on the remote. The content stops and an ad fills the screen, or a corner of it, until playback resumes. It is viewer-initiated, which is the whole appeal: nobody interrupted the show, the viewer did, so the ad lands in a moment of attention instead of fighting for it. IAB Tech Lab put Pause on its short list for programmatic support, next to Menu.
Menu ads
A menu ad sits inside the platform's own interface, the home screen and navigation you land on before you pick something to watch. It is the CTV version of prime shelf space, seen by every user who opens the app, not just the ones watching a given show. This is the second format IAB prioritized for programmatic trading.
Squeezeback ads
A squeezeback shrinks the running content into a smaller window and uses the freed space for an ad, often as an L-shape around the picture or a second box beside it. The show keeps playing, so you are not pulling the viewer out of the content, you are sharing the screen with it. IAB also files this one under L-shape and double-box, the same idea by other names. For an always-on channel it is one of the least disruptive ways to run a promo.
Overlay ads
An overlay is a non-linear ad that runs on top of the content during the program, outside the normal ad break. Think a lower third or a banner that shows up while the program continues underneath. It buys a touchpoint without spending a full commercial slot.
In-scene ads
In-scene insertion puts branded elements inside the content itself: a poster on a wall, a can on a table, signage behind the action. Done well it reads as part of the scene rather than an interruption, which is exactly why it is harder to standardize and why an agreed definition helps.
Screensaver ads
A screensaver ad is the close cousin of the pause ad, with one difference that matters for measurement: it is triggered by the device, not the viewer. When the app or OS decides the screen has gone idle, it shows the ad. Same placement instinct, different trigger, and IAB drawing that line is the point of the exercise.
Where This Stands, and Why the Timing Matters
None of this is locked. The format guidelines are in their second public comment period through July 16, 2026, and the signaling spec that tells programmatic systems what is being bought went out for comment earlier in the year. IAB Tech Lab prioritized Pause and Menu for OpenRTB support first, which is a good tell about which two formats the industry expects to scale soonest.
"Over the past year, we've seen the CTV marketplace explode, and the industry has been asking for clear, practical guidance to keep up," said Anthony Katsur, CEO of IAB Tech Lab. The common language is the part that changes the math for buyers. A named format with a shared spec is one you can run across ten platforms without ten different creative briefs.
What It Means If You Run or Sell CTV Inventory
Standard formats lower the cost of doing CTV at all. If you own a channel, you can offer placements buyers already recognize instead of explaining a custom unit every time. If you advertise, you can build one creative and run it wherever the format exists. And because Pause and Menu are first in line for programmatic, those are the two to design for if you want to be ready when the buying side catches up.
The catch is the same as always: a standardized placement still needs an ad to put in it. The format gives you the shape and the rules. It does not make the creative.
Make the Creative for These Placements
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