CTV and video, full screen on streaming#
Quick answer: Microsoft CTV and video ads place full-screen and instream video across premium streaming inventory, including Netflix's ad-supported tier, Roku and discovery+, bought inside the Microsoft Advertising platform.
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What are CTV and video ads?#
A Connected TV campaign buys full-screen video on streaming platforms and smart TVs, while video ads serve instream and outstream across sites and apps. Both run inside Microsoft Advertising with the same targeting you use for search.
Microsoft is the exclusive global ad technology partner for Netflix's ad-supported tier, which puts a streaming giant inside the same dashboard as your search budgets. Start at the Microsoft Ads hub for the full picture.
How the reach is controlled#
You set audience targeting, genre targeting for CTV, and frequency caps per hour, day, or week, so the same household does not see your ad on every break. Bids follow your goal, from awareness reach to conversions.
Measurement is honest rather than magical: CTV builds reach and recall, so judge it against branded search lifts and retargeting pool growth, not last-click sales.
| Lever | What it means |
|---|---|
| 860+ | CTV publishers in the premium video catalogue |
| 100B+ | weekly US CTV and video impressions |
| Netflix | the ad-supported tier, sold through Microsoft |
| Genre targeting | action, business, gaming, travel and more |
When CTV pays, and when it does not#
Run it for launches, brand building, seasonal pushes, and any story that needs sight, sound and motion. Pair it with search and Audience Ads to capture the attention it creates.
Skip it when the budget cannot cover video production, or when you expect direct response from a channel built for reach.
Where the ads actually play#
Netflix's ad-supported tier across its ten-country footprint, Roku, discovery+, MSN video, Microsoft Casual Games, and premium publisher partners for instream and outstream video.
Inventory is premium by design, so brand safety comes baked in, and frequency caps stop the same household burning your budget.
Why run CTV at all?#
Because television moved to streaming, and Microsoft holds the exclusive route into Netflix's ad tier, a door no other search-first platform can open.
The honest caveat: reach is not revenue. CTV works when it feeds the rest of the funnel, so plan the retargeting layer before you book the impressions.
Search Intent Mapper
Paste a raw keyword list and sort it into buying, comparison, research, brand and irrelevant tiers before it reaches your Microsoft CTV and Video campaigns. The rules are plain word lists, shown in full, and you can overrule any row.
Search Intent Mapper
Runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you type leaves this page.
Your draft saves automatically in this browser tab, and only in this browser tab.
Feed the irrelevant tier straight into your negative keyword list, then let the search terms report show whether junk queries still trigger your ads. This tool never invents search volumes or costs: for estimated monthly searches, use Keyword Planner.
One keyword, three behaviours #
Broad, phrase and exact read the same searches very differently. Simulate all three against your own examples before your microsoft ads search campaigns spend anything.
Match Type Simulator
A simulation of how the documented match types behave using transparent word overlap rules, never a prediction of what Microsoft will actually serve. Runs entirely in your browser; nothing you type leaves this page.
The only place to see the searches that really triggered your ads is the search terms report in your account.
Negative keyword conflict finder#
In Microsoft CTV and Video campaigns, one stray negative can silence a whole ad group with no warning. Paste both lists and this checker names every clash, with the blocking rule spelt out.
Negative Keyword Conflict Finder
Runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you type leaves this page.
One keyword per line. Wrap a line in [square brackets] for exact match, in "straight quotes" for phrase match, or leave it bare for broad match.
- A broad match negative blocks a positive when every one of its words appears in the positive, in any order.
- A phrase match negative blocks a positive when its words appear in the positive in the same order, side by side.
- An exact match negative blocks a positive only when the two match word for word.
- Negative keywords do not use close variants, so plurals and misspellings count as different words. Each positive keyword's own text is tested as though it were a search query.
Feed this tool from Microsoft Advertising's search terms report, where irrelevant queries become negatives, then ask our PPC team to make the pruning a habit.
RSA Message Lab
Draft responsive search ads for your Microsoft CTV and Video campaigns in a live lab, rather than lifting google search ads examples off the internet. Character counters, pinning and a rotating preview, all in your browser.
RSA Message Lab
Runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you type leaves this page.
Microsoft currently accepts up to 15 headlines and 4 descriptions per responsive search ad. See the Microsoft Ads asset limits.
Preview
Your headlines will appear here
www.folkfox.com › microsoft-ads
Your descriptions will appear here.
Start typing and the lab will keep a running tally here.
Your draft saves automatically in this browser tab, and only in this browser tab.
Find the waste hiding in your spend
The quickest saving in Microsoft CTV and Video campaigns is the money you stop leaking. Feed this finder your search terms report and it drafts the negative keyword list for you.
Search-Term Waste Finder
Runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you type leaves this page.
Microsoft Advertising's search terms report shows the real searches that triggered your ads; pruning it is routine hygiene.
Your flagged terms will appear here once you analyse a report.
Fresh ctv intel
Live headlines from the folkfox journal, fresh angles for your microsoft ctv and video campaigns.
Ready when you are#
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