Pinterest has announced a definitive agreement to acquire tvScientific, a connected TV (CTV) performance advertising platform, marking a strategic expansion of its AI-powered advertising capabilities into the rapidly growing CTV market. The transaction, expected to close in the first half of 2026, remains undisclosed in financial terms but is subject to regulatory review, indicating a valuation likely above the Federal Trade Commission’s reporting threshold of $126.4 million.
đź’Ľ M&A / PE diligence in 24 hours? Yes, thanks to AI!
Deal Rationale and Strategic Fit
This acquisition enables Pinterest to integrate its intent-rich audience signals—drawn from its 600 million monthly active users and 15 billion saved boards—with tvScientific’s outcome-based CTV advertising technology. By combining Pinterest’s AI-driven performance advertising suite, including its 2024-launched Performance+ product, with tvScientific’s algorithmically optimized, cost-per-outcome (CPO) pricing model, Pinterest aims to create a unified, measurable performance advertising solution across mobile and TV screens.
Bill Ready, Pinterest CEO, emphasized that this move will allow advertisers to evaluate TV campaigns with the same clarity and performance metrics they use on digital channels, effectively turning Pinterest into a search, social, and CTV performance platform. This integration is poised to unlock new demand sources and provide advertisers with a scalable, data-driven approach to CTV advertising, a sector projected to reach $51 billion globally by 2029.
Financial Terms and Operational Outlook
While Pinterest has not disclosed the financial details, the deal is expected to have a limited immediate impact on Pinterest’s financial results. The company’s initial focus post-close will be to scale tvScientific’s capabilities within the U.S. market before pursuing global expansion. TvScientific will continue to operate under its brand, maintaining its self-managed platform that automates media buying and delivers deterministic attribution for advertisers.
Industry Context: The Rise of Connected TV Advertising
CTV advertising is undergoing rapid transformation, driven by shifts in consumer viewing habits and advertiser demand for measurable, data-driven outcomes. Traditional linear TV ad spend is declining, while CTV ad spend grows at a double-digit pace, reflecting a broader industry pivot toward streaming platforms and programmatic buying models.
However, industry experts note that programmatic buying alone is insufficient to fully capitalize on CTV’s potential. Successful advertisers are combining programmatic efficiency with direct buys of premium inventory to ensure reach, relevance, and predictable volume. This hybrid approach enhances full-funnel marketing impact, as demonstrated by brands like Chime and Calm, which have leveraged direct CTV buys to scale acquisition and brand awareness effectively.
Technological Innovation and AI Integration
AI is playing an increasingly critical role in CTV advertising, improving targeting precision, campaign optimization, and creative personalization. TvScientific’s platform leverages AI-powered optimization models to deliver ads based on client-approved metrics, charging advertisers only when desired outcomes are achieved. This aligns closely with Pinterest’s AI-driven advertising ethos, which uses predictive intent signals and its proprietary Taste Graph to personalize user experiences and ad delivery.
Industry leaders forecast that AI will continue to accelerate CTV advertising’s evolution, serving as a strategic copilot that enhances human creativity and decision-making rather than replacing it. The integration of AI with CTV platforms like tvScientific is expected to unlock new efficiencies and measurable outcomes for advertisers.
Implications for Advertisers and the Market
For advertisers, Pinterest’s acquisition of tvScientific represents a significant opportunity to bridge the gap between digital and TV advertising performance measurement. By enabling outcome-based buying on CTV with intent-driven audience data, Pinterest is positioning itself to capture a larger share of the growing CTV ad spend, which is forecasted to approach half of traditional broadcast TV advertising revenue within this decade.
This deal also reflects broader market trends where Big Tech platforms consolidate advertising spend by offering integrated, cross-channel solutions that combine search, social, retail media, and now CTV. As global advertising spend is projected to grow to $1.3 trillion in 2026, driven by digital-native budgets and retail media, Pinterest’s move enhances its competitive positioning against giants like Google and Meta, who have similarly invested in AI-powered performance ad products.
Historical and Sectoral Context
Pinterest’s acquisition follows a wave of investments in CTV advertising technology, as the industry standardizes ad formats and measurement frameworks to enable scale and interoperability. The IAB Tech Lab’s recent release of standardized CTV ad formats underscores the sector’s maturation and the increasing importance of seamless programmatic and direct buying integration.
Similar deals in the sector have focused on combining data-driven targeting with premium inventory access, reflecting the dual need for efficiency and quality reach in CTV campaigns. Pinterest’s unique advantage lies in its rich intent data and AI capabilities, which, when combined with tvScientific’s performance platform, could redefine how marketers approach CTV advertising.
Summary Table: Key Deal Highlights
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Acquirer | Pinterest, Inc. |
| Target | tvScientific (Connected TV performance advertising platform) |
| Deal Terms | Undisclosed; subject to regulatory review; expected close H1 2026 |
| Strategic Rationale | Extend AI-powered performance advertising to CTV; unify cross-screen measurement |
| Market Context | CTV ad spend projected to reach $51B globally by 2029; growing demand for measurable TV advertising |
| Technology | Outcome-based CPO pricing; AI-driven optimization; deterministic attribution |
| Post-Deal Plans | Scale U.S. operations first, then global expansion; tvScientific to operate independently |
Long-Tail SEO Keywords Embedded
- connected TV performance advertising platform acquisition
- Pinterest CTV advertising strategy 2025
- AI-powered CTV ad targeting solutions
- outcome-based CTV advertising pricing model
- cross-screen advertising measurement and attribution
- programmatic and direct CTV ad buying trends
- CTV ad spend growth projections 2029
- Big Tech advertising platform consolidation 2025
Sources
Â
https://www.adexchanger.com/tv/pinterest-acquires-ctv-startup-tvscientific-didnt-ctv-that-coming/, https://digiday.com/sponsored/why-programmatic-buying-alone-isnt-enough-to-win-on-ctv/, https://putmeonselftape.substack.com/p/the-consolidation-paradox, https://newsroom.pinterest.com/news/pinterest-tvscientific/, https://www.streamtvinsider.com/advertising/iab-tech-lab-releases-standards-six-ctv-ad-formats, https://www.emarketer.com/content/ai-emerges-powerful-copilot-ctv-advertisers--says-digital-remedy, https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/pinterest-acquire-tvscientific-undisclosed-sum, https://www.beet.tv/2025/12/ctv-growth-is-fueling-both-opportunity-and-complexity-openxs-stacey-bohrer.html, https://www.advanced-television.com/2025/12/11/study-ad-market-growth-concentrated-in-big-tech-platforms/, https://www.stocktitan.net/news/PINS/pinterest-to-acquire-tv-scientific-expanding-performance-advertising-5pdcxerucd8t.html, https://martech.org/iab-tech-lab-introduces-new-ctv-ad-formats-updates-programmatic-guidance/, https://tvnewscheck.com/tech/article/iab-tech-lab-announces-ctv-ad-portfolio-updated-guide-to-programmatic-ctv-2/, https://thedesk.net/2025/12/pinterest-acquiring-tvscientific/, https://www.norwest.com/blog/tvscientific-and-pinterest-evolution-of-ctv, https://www.clickz.com/the-state-of-marketing-2025-the-year-the-funnel-finally-collapsed-a-clickz-wrap-up/270649/, https://www.newscaststudio.com/2025/12/11/deloitte-forecasts-streaming-and-broadcast-shifts-as-video-formats-fragment/, https://www.marketingweek.com/changing-rules-of-engagement-what-the-data-says/
