TV may be increasingly fragmented, but we are also witnessing a move on the ad side toward simplification, as emerging solutions like addressability allow advertisers to more efficiently reach desired audiences at scale. That’s according to FreeWheel’s Q4 2019 U.S. Video Marketplace Report, “Reaching Premium Video Audiences in a Hyper-Fragmented World.”
Key Takeaways include:
- The media industry has reached peak fragmentation, and the meaning of the word ‘TV’ has never been less clear. Fragmentation can be seen in the form of the devices used to consume content, the type of content that is being consumed, and the number of streaming services consumers can choose from.
- As attention fragments across different types of content, audiences are also fragmenting, with different viewers watching content differently. While viewers aged over 50 spend at least 45% of their viewing/media time with traditional TV, those aged 18-34 spend half of all media time on mobile and Connected TV (CTV).
- While fragmentation in the media ecosystem has reached a new high, there are signs that the space is moving towards simplification. There have been mergers and partnerships, as well as process automation and new products such as programmatic and addressability, that are gaining higher rates of adoption.
- Although programmatic accounts for just 24% of premium video impressions in the U.S. in Q4 2019, it is growing fast—50% YOY.
- Addressability could power the future of TV advertising. Serving targeted TV ads to households is not a dream anymore; it is happening here and now. In Q4 2019, campaigns that engaged in addressable advertising increased by 48%, compared to 2018.
