Peer39: Deal IDs deliver up to 25% fake content, authenticated IDs cut it to 2.2%
Deal ID signals, the strings of numbers and characters that supply-side platforms and publishers attach to programmatic inventory, let up to 25% of CTV and streaming impressions run against fake content and 23% land on sensitive content, according to research from Peer39. Authenticated content ID signals, which come directly from the publisher and confirm what's on screen, cut those figures to 2.2% and 6.5%. Peer39 also found authenticated IDs revealed the known channel in up to 32% of cases, versus 4.5% for video bought on the open exchange without that signal. Testing pre-bid controls built on authenticated IDs instead of opaque packaging, Peer39 reported 67% lower effective CPMs and 76% more impression volume. Peer39 said the problem is structural: 'the programmatic supply chain was engineered to move impressions at scale, and signal fidelity was never a gating condition for participation.'
Campaigns bought against Deal IDs alone carry a real chance of paying for inventory that never renders as sold, particularly on the open exchange where verification stops before the screen. Authenticated pre-bid controls give buyers a way to confirm placement before spend commits, and Peer39's numbers show that verification step lowers cost and improves quality at the same time. Agencies running CTV programmatic buys can treat publisher-sourced content ID as a standard line in deal terms and treat efficiency and brand safety as outcomes of the same fix.