Let’s rewind the tape.

Addressable TV began its awkward adolescence in the early 2010s, when companies like Cablevision, DirecTV, and DISH had the bright idea: Hey, what if we didn’t show the same toilet paper commercial to every single household in Queens?

Enter the set-top box — the original smart device, minus the “smart.” It gave advertisers the novel ability to serve different ads to different households watching the same linear show, provided the show aired somewhere between "Wheel of Fortune" and "CSI: Miami."

This was 2012. Obama was in the White House. The phrase “cord-cutter” still got you weird looks. But the dream was planted: TV could become digital — targeted, accountable, maybe even measurable. Just like those pesky Facebook ads following you around like a digital mosquito.

Fast forward: Streaming explodes. Smart TVs infiltrate living rooms like Alexa bugs. CTV becomes the cool kid with its dashboard full of apps and promises of data-driven reach. Suddenly, “addressable” is everywhere — and nowhere at the same time.

Addressable TV was supposed to be the great unifier.
One audience. One buy. One gloriously efficient cross-platform campaign.

Instead, we got a high-gloss PowerPoint fantasy — and a deeply broken backstage.

Let’s break it down:

Result? Addressable TV today is a Frankenstein’s monster: slick in theory, but stitched together with duct tape and mutual distrust.

Let’s play fantasy vs. reality:

Buyers think they’re buying:

What they’re actually buying:

It's like ordering filet mignon and getting five samples of beef jerky — nicely labeled, still chewy.

While the adtech world preaches convergence, agencies are living a soap opera called “Separate Budgets and Mutual Resentment.”

These two don’t just buy differently — they think differently. One dreams of reach. The other dreams of ROAS. The only thing they share is a Slack channel and mutual disdain.

This split leads to:

Here’s the thing: CTV is booming. Nearly 90 million U.S. households are watching something on a connected device. And addressable ad spend? It's climbing like a crypto chart in a bull market.

But no one agrees on what’s next.

Answer: All of the above. Welcome to the Addressable Schism.

Larry Allen, VP at Comcast Advertising, doesn’t mince words. He’s one of the few execs who admits the game is still in progress.

Yes, Comcast has made its inventory more accessible. Yes, they’ve partnered, unified, and structured data for better attribution. But real convergence? Still stuck behind:

Comcast is pushing for a more open, unified addressable future. But until every player stops building their own walled garden and just opens the gate a little — it’s going to be a long, glitchy road.

Because pretending “programmatic” and “addressable” are the same thing is like pretending decaf is coffee.

Stay bold. Stay curious.
And know more than you did yesterday.