Viant and Ad Fontes Media Partner on CTV News Reliability Targeting

This partnership addresses a key challenge for advertisers in the polarized news landscape, allowing for more granular CTV news ad targeting based on content reliability instead of broad avoidance. By enabling advertisers to confidently engage with news inventory, Viant could capture a larger share of ad spend previously held back due to brand safety concerns. Moving forward, watch for adoption rates among major brands and the impact on ad spend allocation within CTV news environments.

Viant's move to enable news reliability-based targeting on CTV directly addresses advertiser concerns about associating campaigns with potentially polarizing or low-quality news content. As documented by TV Tech (May 2026), Ad Fontes Media's founder and CEO, Vanessa Otero, noted that advertisers do not need to avoid news, but rather require better tools to navigate it. General Motors' Global Chief Media Officer, Shenan Reed, stated their company uses Ad Fontes Media to ensure advertising reaches all audiences while appearing in reliable publications, according to Adweek (May 2026). This sentiment underscores a broader industry push to move beyond blanket keyword- and domain-based brand safety measures. A study by Teads and Lumen Research cited by TV News Check (May 2026) indicates that ads in news environments receive 20% more attention and drive 77% higher brand recall, suggesting a significant opportunity for brands that can navigate this space effectively. The integration aims to put premium CTV news inventory back into play for brands that have historically shied away due to perceived risks.