Streaming Ads
Streaming Ads are TikTok's catalog-driven performance ad suite for streaming services and entertainment brands, launched publicly in January 2026 2 and documented in the Business Help Center 1. They are powered by Smart+ and require a Media Titles catalog (industry = Media and Entertainment).
Why Streaming Ads exist
TikTok's pitch: entertainment advertisers were bending the generic Products catalog to fit shows and films, which didn't capture title-specific metadata (genre, cover art, IMDb rating, trailer clips). Streaming Ads give them a purpose-built:
- Catalog schema for library titles 3.
- Backend Smart+ model tuned for subscription intent signals 2.
- Two front-end creative formats designed for entertainment discovery 1.
Early testing benchmark TikTok publishes: 80% of Streaming Ads campaigns outperformed non-Streaming Ads campaigns 2.
How the system works
Three components 2:
- Front-end formats — Media Card or Multi-Show Experience. Advertiser picks which.
- Entertainment catalog — Media & Entertainment catalog uploaded and managed in TikTok Ads Manager / Business Center. Drives dynamic creative optimisation.
- Streaming backend model — Smart+ variant that optimises bids and title selection per impression to maximise predicted CVR + CTR.
The two ad formats
| Format | Shape | Best for | Deep dive |
|---|---|---|---|
| Media Card | Interactive add-on layered on a standard in-feed video; auto-scrolls through title cards (cover + headline + genre + IMDb rating) every 4 seconds | Boost existing brand/anthem video with scalable multi-title promotion without producing new creative | streaming-media-card |
| Multi-Show Experience | Dedicated full-screen format with 4 video tiles from the catalog, each with its own landing URL | Lower-funnel, always-on "range" campaigns that showcase breadth of library | streaming-multi-show-experience |
Prerequisites
- Catalog: Media Titles catalog (industry = Media and entertainment) with titles uploaded, cover images and clips resized per format 3. See streaming-ads-catalog-media-entertainment.
- Smart+: Streaming Ads only run on Smart+ — not Manual 1.
- Access: Streaming Ads are currently early access — advertisers engage their TikTok partner to turn it on 2.
Related TikTok program — New Title Launch
For tentpole releases (new-season premieres, franchise drops, marquee sports), TikTok offers New Title Launch (NTL) — a performance solution that runs alongside Streaming Ads for spike moments. TikTok reports 60% of NTL promotions outperformed advertisers' stated TikTok Ads Manager CPA goals in recent Q2'25 observations 2. NTL is positioned as the complement to always-on Streaming Ads.
Sprinklr status
Not supported. Sprinklr's TikTok integration today covers Products catalogs + non-Streaming formats capability matrix. Streaming Ads would be a distinct track because:
- The catalog schema is different (Media Titles, not Products).
- The creative formats (Media Card, Multi-Show) don't map to existing Sprinklr ad-composer creative source types.
- The Smart+ backend objective is distinct.
Likely treated as PRD v2 or a separate vertical-focused PRD rather than folded into the first Upgraded Smart+ Catalog build for Products — see proposed-mvp-upgraded-smart-catalog-on-sprinklr for the Products-first MVP.