On March 26th, as the buzz of Newfronts took over Manhattan, Smadex, Tubi, and Kochava invited a sold-out crowd to the Rolls-Royce Motor Cars showroom for a deep dive into the next frontier of advertising: CTV Live NYC.

Surrounded by some of the world’s finest examples of precision engineering, the irony wasn’t lost on us. For years, TV advertising was anything but precise; it was broad, opaque, and hard to measure. But as our panels made clear, those days are over. We are officially in the “performance era” of CTV.

If you couldn’t make it to the showroom, here are the three major takeaways from the intersection of mobile and the big screen.

Our first panel, featuring NFL legend Shawne Merriman (CEO of LightsOut Brand) alongside experts Paul Cacciato from Hard Rock Digital and Andrew King from Genius Sports, explored why live sports remain the “holy grail” for advertisers.

• The Insight: In an on-demand world, live sports are the last standing titan of “appointment viewing.” But it’s no longer just about the 30-second spot.
• The Takeaway: For performance marketers, sports is a trigger for second-screen behavior. Whether viewers are checking betting odds, scores, or social feeds, the “handshake” between the CTV screen and the mobile device in their hand is where the real conversion happens. We’re not just buying an impression; we’re buying attention equity.

Smadex CEO Jordi de los Pinos led our second discussion on “The Future of Programmatic TV,” joined by Charles Manning (Kochava), Anvesh Cheemakurthy (Tubi), Katya Shkolnik (Future Today), and Jason Higgins (OpenGlass).

• The Insight: The industry has closed the “education gap.” We’ve moved past simply measuring if an ad was seen. With the integration of household graphs and mobile attribution, we can now track a CTV exposure directly to a mobile app install or an in-app purchase.
• The Takeaway: The goal for 2026 isn’t just measurement, it’s Outcome Optimization. We’re seeing high-growth advertisers treat CTV with the same rigor as social or search, achieving 80%+ install rates within the first hour of an impression. If you aren’t optimizing your TV spend for real-world actions, you’re missing the engine’s full horsepower.

The conversation took an exciting turn toward the future of the user experience. We aren’t just changing how we buy TV; we’re changing what viewers see.

• The Insight: The “race to the bottom” on open-market CPMs is being replaced by a flight to quality. The most successful brands are moving toward Direct Supply, buying directly from publishers like Tubi to ensure clean data and zero “tech tax”.
• The Takeaway: During the discussion, the Tubi team highlighted the impact of these direct connections, noting that Smadex has become their fastest-growing programmatic partner. This growth is fueled by a shift toward non-interruptive formats such as Pause Ads and Home Screen Native placements. Ads that respect the viewer’s experience while driving massive engagement. By using AI and Deep Learning to place ads in these high-value moments, we’re making CTV a more natural (and effective) part of the digital ecosystem.

We wrapped up the day with a cocktail reception we called “The Victory Lap.” It was a chance to connect with leaders and peers from the industry to discuss the common thread of the day: Convergence.

As Mike Brooks noted on stage, we are still in the “early innings” of this space. The wall between “Mobile” and “TV” has officially crumbled, and the living room has become the most powerful performance channel in the world.

Ready to see what CTV can do for your growth targets? Connect with the Smadex team and let’s get your performance engine running.