Pinterest Expands Reach with Acquisition of CTV Ad Platform tvScientific

Pinterest announced plans to acquire connected TV advertising platform tvScientific, a strategic move that will significantly expand its advertising capabilities beyond social media to television screens across America. The acquisition, currently under regulatory review, is expected to close in the first half of 2026.

The deal represents a pivotal expansion for Pinterest, combining its extensive shopping data from 600 million active users with tvScientific's sophisticated connected TV advertising technology. This integration will allow advertisers to create more coordinated campaigns across multiple screens while providing enhanced measurement capabilities for determining advertising effectiveness.

Combining social intent with television reach

The acquisition marks Pinterest's strategic push to connect digital browsing behavior with television advertising opportunities. By integrating tvScientific's platform directly into Pinterest's performance products, including its AI-powered advertising suite Pinterest Performance+, the company aims to create a more comprehensive advertising ecosystem.

"With this acquisition, Pinterest will bring high-intent audiences to CTV," Pinterest stated in its announcement. "tvScientific's outcome-based CTV platform will be integrated directly into Pinterest's performance products, including its automation and AI-powered advertising suite, Pinterest Performance+."

The combined technology will allow advertisers to leverage Pinterest's detailed shopping data alongside tvScientific's targeting capabilities, which currently includes over 15,000 unique audience segments. This precision targeting helps ensure advertisements reach the most relevant viewers at optimal times.

For brands already using Pinterest to reach consumers during their product discovery phase, the addition of television placement options provides a powerful new channel to reinforce messaging. The integrated platform will enable more seamless campaign management across both digital and television environments.

This development significantly enhances Pinterest's traffic generation capabilities for businesses, creating multi-platform touchpoints that can drive more qualified visitors.

Advanced technology driving better measurement

tvScientific brings significant technological capabilities to the partnership that address long-standing challenges in television advertising measurement. Founded by advertising industry veterans, the platform has developed sophisticated tools that help advertisers of all sizes manage CTV campaigns more effectively.

The technology includes several cutting-edge features:

• Automated media buying across multiple CTV platforms
• AI-powered optimization models that improve campaign performance
• Deterministic attribution that helps connect TV viewing to consumer actions
• Outcome-based payment options that reduce advertiser risk

These capabilities directly address the measurement challenges that have historically made television advertising difficult to quantify. By providing clearer attribution between TV advertising and consumer actions, advertisers can better understand their return on investment.

Pinterest notes that tvScientific will continue to operate under its own name following the acquisition's completion, suggesting the company values the established reputation and technology stack that tvScientific has developed.

What this means for advertisers

The Pinterest-tvScientific combination creates several practical opportunities for brands looking to maximize their advertising effectiveness:

1. Cross-platform campaign coordination between Pinterest's visual discovery platform and television screens
2. More precise targeting using combined data signals from both platforms
3. Better measurement of how advertising across different mediums drives consumer behavior
4. Access to CTV advertising opportunities for businesses of various sizes

With connected TV viewing continuing to rise as consumers shift away from traditional cable television, this acquisition positions Pinterest to capitalize on changing media consumption habits. The integration allows brands to maintain consistent messaging across both Pinterest's platform and television programming.

For marketers, this development offers a potential advantage in creating more cohesive customer journeys from initial product discovery on Pinterest through reinforcement via television advertising. The combined data insights could also help refine audience targeting strategies across both platforms.

The pending acquisition represents Pinterest's recognition that effective advertising increasingly requires presence across multiple screens and formats. By expanding beyond its core platform, Pinterest aims to provide advertisers with more comprehensive solutions for reaching consumers throughout their decision-making process.

How to leverage this development

Brands currently advertising on Pinterest should:

• Begin evaluating how connected TV might complement existing Pinterest campaigns
• Consider how messaging could be coordinated across both platforms
• Prepare to test cross-platform measurement capabilities once integration is complete
• Analyze existing customer journey maps to identify optimal touchpoints for CTV integration

Companies implementing comprehensive digital marketing strategies will need to consider how this expanded capability fits into their overall media mix and attribution models.

Industry implications

This acquisition signals a growing trend of social platforms expanding into traditional media channels. For both Pinterest and the broader advertising industry, the integration of social intent data with television delivery represents an important evolution in cross-channel marketing.

Brands that have historically relied on e-commerce influencer marketing strategies may find new opportunities to amplify those partnerships through coordinated CTV campaigns, creating multi-platform endorsement experiences.

According to eMarketer's latest projections, CTV ad spending is expected to reach $26.92 billion by 2025, reflecting the growing importance of this channel in the digital advertising ecosystem.

The Pinterest-tvScientific combination highlights the ongoing convergence of social media and television advertising as traditional boundaries between media formats continue to blur in our increasingly connected world.