Hulu and Samsung Lead the CTV Advertising Shift: A New Era of Dominance and Risk

The connected TV (CTV) advertising landscape is undergoing a seismic shift, with content aggregators and device manufacturers emerging as the industry's new powerhouses. Pixalate's June 2025 reports reveal a stark reality: Hulu dominates U.S. CTV ad revenue, while Amazon and Samsung are reshaping market dynamics—yet the sector remains fraught with risks tied to ad fraud. For investors, this presents a high-reward, high-risk opportunity to bet on companies that control scalable ad inventory and device integration, while avoiding fragmented ecosystems vulnerable to misrepresentation.

Hulu's Cross-Platform Dominance: A Content Aggregator's Power Play

Hulu's position as the top U.S. CTV ad revenue generator underscores the structural advantage of content aggregators. In March 2024, Hulu earned $83 million on Roku, $37 million on Amazon Fire TV, $36 million on Apple TV, and $23 million on Samsung Smart TV, a testament to its cross-platform reach. Even as CTV ad spend grew to $5 billion in Q1 2025 (a 10% YoY increase), Hulu's consistent performance across devices positions it as the go-to platform for advertisers.

This dominance isn't accidental. Hulu's integration with Disney's vast content library and its leadership in Pixalate's U.S. CTV Publisher Trust Index (ranking alongside ESPN and Fubo) reflects its ability to deliver quality traffic. For investors, this translates to Disney (DIS) being a core holding in the CTV ecosystem—its stock has outperformed peers, rising 18% year-to-date despite broader market volatility.

Samsung and Amazon: Device Manufacturers Seizing the Ad Opportunity

While content aggregators lead revenue, device manufacturers are leveraging their hardware dominance to build ad ecosystems. Amazon Fire TV's 65% YoY growth in U.S. market share (now at 18%) and Samsung's 12% U.S. share—coupled with its 24% leadership in APAC and 25% in EMEA—highlight a global push. Samsung's expansion into regions like EMEA, where its IVT rates remain high (36% globally), signals both opportunity and risk.

Amazon's strategy is even more aggressive. Its Vega OS, replacing Android on Fire TV devices, aims to reduce reliance on third-party intermediaries, streamlining ad delivery and revenue capture. Meanwhile, Samsung's partnerships with SSPs like FreeWheel and PubMatic underscore its ambition to monetize its hardware base at scale.

The Dark Underbelly: Ad Misrepresentation and Fraud

Despite the growth, Pixalate's findings reveal a 13% rate of unauthorized sellers in CTV ad traffic, with 16% of “complete” supply chain data failing verification. These misrepresentations correlate with 159% higher invalid traffic (IVT), creating a toxic environment for advertisers. The risks are acute: fraud undermines revenue accuracy and erodes trust, particularly in fragmented ecosystems with weak ads.txt compliance.

For investors, this means favoring companies with strong supply chain transparency—like Hulu and Samsung's partners Magnite and PubMatic (which hold top SSP positions)—while avoiding platforms with high IVT rates. The 18% global IVT rate in Q1 2025 (up 50% YoY) is a warning: fragmented CTV ecosystems are ripe for fraud, and advertisers are already reallocating budgets to more trustworthy channels.

Investment Thesis: Bet on Ecosystems, Not Silos

The structural shift in CTV advertising rewards companies that control both content and hardware. Hulu's content scale and device-agnostic reach, paired with Amazon's OS-driven monetization and Samsung's global hardware footprint, create defensible moats.

Top Picks:
1. Disney (DIS): Owns Hulu's content and ad inventory, benefiting from its trust index leadership.
2. Samsung (SSNLF): Dominates device markets and is expanding into regions with untapped CTV ad spend.
3. Amazon (AMZN): Its Fire TV growth and Vega OS innovation position it to capture ad revenue at the hardware level.

Avoid:
- Platforms with fragmented ecosystems (e.g., smaller SSPs with weak compliance).
- Ad tech players reliant on third-party intermediaries in high-IVT regions like Mexico (22% IVT) or the UK (24% IVT).

Conclusion: The New Rules of CTV

The CTV advertising landscape is no longer about pixels—it's about ecosystems. Investors must prioritize companies that aggregate content, control hardware, and enforce supply chain transparency. Hulu, Samsung, and Amazon are leading this charge, but the sector's fraud risks demand vigilance. As CTV ad spend hits $177 billion by 2025, the winners will be those who build trust—and the losers will be those stuck in the shadows of misrepresentation.

In short: Own the ecosystem, or risk being left behind.