Smart TV Home Screens Now Open to Programmatic Buying in APAC

The best moment to reach a TV viewer isn't mid-show. It's before they've picked anything to watch.

When someone turns on a Smart TV, they land on a home screen first. That's where they browse apps and decide what to watch next. Nielsen data shows viewers spend up to 10.5 minutes on that screen before pressing play on anything. For advertisers, it's prime real estate that was nearly impossible to buy without a bespoke direct deal.

That's now changing in Asia-Pacific. Nexxen, an ad technology company, has partnered with VIDAA to open Smart TV home screen placements to programmatic buying (the automated auction system brands already use for digital display and video ads) across Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

The Lock That Just Broke

For years, TV home screen advertising worked like premium billboard space. You had to call someone, negotiate a price, sign a contract, and wait. That kept placements exclusive but slow, expensive, and out of reach for most advertisers.

VIDAA's operating system runs on more than 50 million Smart TVs across 180+ markets globally, holding 7.8% of the global Smart TV OS market, second only to Samsung's Tizen at 12.9%. Unlocking that inventory through automated auctions is a meaningful shift. Brands can now plan, buy, and measure Smart TV home screen campaigns within the same tools they use for digital campaigns, with unified reporting and pacing rather than a patchwork of point-in-time deals.

A Race to the Home Screen

Nexxen is moving fast, but it's not alone. Samsung Ads and Teads launched a competing home screen advertising partnership in early 2026 covering seven APAC markets and reaching 12 million unique viewers. TCL FFALCON has separately partnered with Affinity for programmatic Smart TV access across 160+ countries.

The pattern is clear. Major TV operating system owners are choosing automated monetization over direct-only gatekeeping. As Guy Edri, CEO of V (the company behind VIDAA), put it: "The TV experience doesn't start with playback. It starts on the home screen. In today's world, that is TV. It's where discovery happens, where decisions are made, and where attention is at its highest."

What the Numbers Say

The timing matters. Open programmatic CTV spending in Southeast Asia surged 43% in Q1 2025 compared to 2023, and 57% of APAC marketers are now reallocating at least 40% of their budgets to CTV. Asia-Pacific accounts for more than 40% of global Smart TV revenue, projected to grow at 16%+ annually through 2033.

Australia anchors the initial Nexxen rollout for good reason. Streaming services are now the primary way adults watch TV content there, used by 68% of adults in 2025. That's a market where Smart TV home screen reach is structurally significant, not speculative.

Globally, 68% of CTV spending still flows through direct insertion orders and only 7% through open auction or private marketplace deals. That 7% is where Nexxen is planting its flag. The direction of travel is clear.

The challenge ahead isn't access. It's measurement. As more home screen inventory opens to programmatic, brands will need standardized ways to compare performance across Samsung, VIDAA, LG, and TCL ecosystems. That's still a work in progress. But a door that was previously shut to most advertisers has opened.