Streaming services are highly popular, with Netflix being one of the most well-known. This streaming giant made a splash at the start of 2023 by banning password sharing in a number of countries – some of its largest audiences. Now, the streaming service is encouraging people kicked off of their families accounts to sign up for their own with a new ad-supported plan for only $5.99 CAD.
They aren’t the only streaming service to explore ad-supported television, with HBO Max and Disney Plus introducing ad options later in 2023 as well. The expansion of ad supported streaming creates even more opportunities in the marketplace – an already $67 billion marketplace with ample audience still up for grabs. Not to mention new attitudes, strategies, and messaging to explore.
In addition to these larger streaming platforms, companies like Tubi and CBC Gem have been offering ad supported CTV for years, as well as built-in options in apps like Plex or onboard operating systems like Samsung Connect. However, Tubi is a pioneer of the market and has proven that the model works.
Additionally, a shrinking audience does not mean less people are watching TV, on the contrary, TV is just as popular as ever – but audiences aren’t watching cable or satellite as they once were. As more and more audiences move away from traditional TV, streaming services become an increasingly viable solution for recapturing that audience. To learn all of the ins and outs of CTV advertising, be sure to check out our full Guide to Connected Television Advertising (CTV).
Reach new audiences in a growing market
Recent studies show that 92% of US households were reachable via CTV ads last year and that over 110 million Gen Z and Millennial audience members saw ads through CTV. Not only is this a huge audience to reach, it is an audience made up of the biggest spending demographic. The ad spend in this industry is also expected to increase, and potentially double to $38 billion by 2026.
Like with all ads, frequency is key – especially among younger demographics that have grown up in an oversaturated market. The same study suggests that 40% of viewers would abandon CTV if ads were too frequent, only willing to see up to 5.8 relevant ads per show.
Tracking CTV viewership
Like with all advertising, CTV ads need to be tracked so that marketers can understand who’s watching, when they’re watching, and how long they’re watching. Data allows advertisers to adjust their strategies and make informed decisions about their ad purchases. For a long time, however, tracking CTV viewership has been near impossible.
That being said, as more broadcasters adapt to the new reality of streaming, they are teaming up to create a standard to support multiple cross-platform video currencies. Earlier this year, national broadcasters announced that they had formed a JIC (joint industry committee) alongside the Video Advertising Bureau and OpenAP in order to implement this standard by the 2024 upfronts.
A new frontier
While jumping on the latest technology can be intimidating, it is essential for advertisers to understand where their potential customers are migrating to so that they can be present in those spaces.
Like with the growth of social media, CTV is an uncharted landscape to traverse, but like with all journey’s in this business, it is a journey worth mapping. By planning your CTV content alongside your other ads on an omni-channel platform, you can ensure that your ad dollars are going to your audience, and not wasted on unnecessary and unwatched ad space.
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