Why Two Independent TV Platforms Just Solved CTV's Biggest Problem
Barcelona's Titan OS and TiVo are pooling ad inventory to give buyers a single route to both platforms - and tackle the fragmentation that's plagued connected TV since day one
Barcelona-based Titan OS and TiVo have struck a deal that gives advertisers something they’ve been demanding for years: a single buying route to premium connected TV inventory across two independent operating systems. Titan Ads will handle advertising sales for TiVo OS across Europe, creating unified access to both platforms with standardised formats and deduplicated audiences.
Media buyers can now access premium CTV inventory across both operating systems through one point of contact, with consistent ad formats and unified audience management. Outside the UK, Titan Ads gets exclusive sales rights for TiVo OS advertising inventory in selected European markets. The deal includes deduplicated reach, cross-platform frequency capping and access to proprietary audience segments.
CTV has gone from experimental budget line to core video strategy, but the ecosystem is still a mess. Advertisers deal with multiple operating systems, each with different specifications, measurement approaches and buying processes. The result: wasted spend and the same viewers seeing identical ads across different platforms because nobody’s talking to each other.
Both companies run independent TV operating systems, which makes the collaboration more interesting than if one were simply a bigger fish swallowing a smaller one. Neither is tied to Samsung, LG, Amazon or Roku. Titan OS powers smart TVs from manufacturers across Europe and Latin America. TiVo OS, part of Xperi Inc, brings decades of entertainment technology expertise and an established European presence. Neither discloses precise reach figures, but the combined inventory gives advertisers meaningful scale beyond the dominant platforms.
The technical plumbing matters. Deduplicated reach stops advertisers hammering the same household across both platforms. Frequency capping works across the combined footprint rather than resetting on each system. Standardised formats mean creative teams build one ad unit, not several versions for different specs.
Tim Edwards, COO of Titan OS, reckons the market’s been fragmented for too long with platforms working in isolation. Gabriel Cosgrave, General Manager EMEA at Xperi, talks about creating a smarter ecosystem that aligns with industry demands for less fragmentation.
The commercial logic is straightforward. CTV ad spend keeps growing as streaming dominates and linear declines. Advertisers want fewer platforms to negotiate with, not more. They want standardisation that lets campaigns scale without constant technical workarounds.
For independent operating systems, this creates a problem. They can offer advertisers an alternative to the major platforms - better rates, more flexibility. But individually, they lack the reach to compete with Samsung or Amazon. Pool the advertising inventory and create unified access, and Titan OS and TiVo OS build the scale neither could manage alone.
The deal also shows where TiVo thinks value sits in the CTV stack. Operating systems provide technical infrastructure, but advertising sales needs specialist expertise, agency relationships and sustained investment in measurement. Rather than build duplicate capabilities, TiVo is outsourcing to Titan Ads, which already has the team in place.
Does this become a template for other independent platforms? Hard to say, but the principle makes sense. CTV matures by making the advertising proposition simpler and more efficient.
The real test is execution. Unified platforms look good in press releases, but delivering consistent measurement, smooth technical integration and genuine deduplication takes serious operational capability. Advertisers will judge the partnership on campaign performance and whether buying actually gets easier, not on what the announcement promises.
CTV is consolidating around fewer major platforms. The independent operators either differentiate on capability or pool their reach. Titan OS and TiVo OS have picked pooling, betting that advertisers value simplified access to premium inventory across multiple systems. Other independents facing the same squeeze will be watching closely.
