CTV’s Real Fragmentation Tax: Identity, Not Inventory

The industry keeps treating CTV fragmentation like a routing problem—aggregate supply, standardize pipes, move on. Ibarguen’s point is sharper: without durable identity, CTV behaves like a series of disconnected channels, inflating wasted reach and undermining repeatable outcomes. For executives, this is a margin and growth issue: audience-based monetization, pricing power, and attribution all weaken when identity can’t travel. For strategists and investors, the meme is clear: “identity is the new inventory.” The platforms that can resolve identity credibly—without tripping privacy and regulation—will set the rules for CTV buying.