Hulu and Samsung Lead CTV Advertising Shift for Dominance and Risk in New Era

The world of connected TV (CTV) advertising is experiencing a major transformation, with content aggregators and device manufacturers emerging as key players. According to Pixalate’s reports from June 2025, Hulu is dominating the CTV ad revenue scene in the U.S. Meanwhile, Amazon and Samsung are shaking up the market dynamics in exciting ways. However, this industry is not without its challenges, particularly when it comes to ad fraud.

For investors, this landscape presents a thrilling yet risky opportunity to invest in companies that have control over scalable ad inventory and device integration. It’s essential to steer clear of fragmented ecosystems that are susceptible to misrepresentation.

Let’s dive into the details of how these companies are making moves in the CTV advertising space.

Hulu, as a content aggregator, has positioned itself as a major player in the U.S. CTV ad revenue game. Their impressive earnings across various platforms like Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, and Samsung Smart TV showcase their reach and effectiveness. Their consistent performance across devices has made them a top choice for advertisers, especially as CTV ad spend continues to grow.

This dominance isn’t by chance. Hulu’s partnership with Disney’s extensive content library, along with their high ranking in Pixalate’s U.S. CTV Publisher Trust Index, demonstrates their ability to deliver quality traffic. Investors have taken notice, with Disney’s stock outperforming others in the market, despite its volatility.

On the other hand, device manufacturers like Amazon and Samsung are also capitalizing on the ad opportunity by leveraging their hardware dominance. Amazon Fire TV’s significant growth in market share and Samsung’s expansion into regions like EMEA and APAC indicate a global push.

Despite the growth in the industry, challenges like ad misrepresentation and fraud persist. Pixalate’s findings show a concerning rate of unauthorized sellers and incomplete supply chain data, leading to higher invalid traffic rates. This creates a risky environment for advertisers and investors alike.

Investors should focus on companies with strong supply chain transparency, like Hulu and Samsung’s partners, to mitigate these risks. Companies with fragmented ecosystems and high invalid traffic rates should be approached with caution.

In this ever-evolving CTV advertising landscape, the key is to invest in companies with control over content and hardware. Hulu’s content scale, Amazon’s innovative OS strategies, and Samsung’s global hardware footprint make them strong contenders in this space.

Top picks for investors include Disney, Samsung, and Amazon, each with their unique strengths in the CTV advertising realm. It’s essential to avoid platforms with fragmented ecosystems and high invalid traffic rates.

In conclusion, the rules of CTV advertising are changing. The winners in this space will be those who prioritize ecosystem control, transparency, and trust. As CTV ad spend continues to rise, investing in the right companies will be crucial for success in this dynamic industry.