Despite the onslaught of new advertiser-supported versions of major streaming platforms, ad spending among six of the top OTT platforms is actually down for the first nine months of 2023, according to MediaRadar.

From January through October 2023, MediaRadar’s data sample showed nearly $1.07 billion in advertising investment on six top OTT platforms: Discovery+, Hulu, Max, Paramount+, Peacock, and Pluto TV (missing from the list are the recently launched ad supported versions of Netflix and Disney). This represents an 8% year-over-year (YoY) decrease from the $1.2 billion spent last year, the researcher said.

“Streaming platforms are confronting steep hurdles around ballooning content expenses, password sharing dilution, and an uncertain economic climate. These factors are fueling downstream subscriber and advertising adversities across the industry.” stated Todd Krizelman, CEO of advertising Intelligence platform, MediaRadar. “As evidence of the challenges, we observed an 8% year-over-year decline in ad spend across six major streaming platforms from January - October 2023. However, the streaming ad market also shows promise – these players alone account for over $1 billion in spend over this period.”

The leading five advertising categories—restaurant, medical & pharma, finance, retail, and technology—constituted nearly $503 million, or 47% of the total ad spend through October. Collectively, these categories saw a 10% decrease in YoY spending.

The finance category, encompassing financial institutions, real estate, and insurance providers, experienced the most significant YoY decrease. Insurance companies, which contributed 68% of this category’s spend through Q3 2022, dropped to 36% in 2023. Major insurers like Geico, State Farm, and Progressive slashed their spend from $123 million to $32.5 million through October 2023, marking a 74% YoY reduction in OTT ad spend.

Among the top categories, restaurants and pharma were the only sectors to register increases in YoY ad spend. Restaurants experienced a 39% increase, while medical & pharma observed a 56% rise. Fast food restaurants, representing 74% of the restaurant category's spend, surged by 38%, with brands like McDonald's, Taco Bell, and Subway amplifying their OTT ad investments. Restaurants were a top category so far this year for Hulu, Paramount+, and Peacock.

“Quick service restaurants are making a strategic move by advertising heavily on streaming platforms,” said Krizelman. “With viewers at home, ads for restaurants are likely to prompt immediate orders, placing these brands right where viewers can act on them.”

Pharma companies, including AbbVie and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), allocated nearly $84 million to OTT, achieving a 66% increase in spending YoY. Significant contributions were made in arthritis prescriptions and OTC hair growth products. Pharma advertisers featured prominently in Discovery+ and Peacock’s top categories.

Retail advertisers, spanning from car dealerships to general retailers, accounted for 14% of Discovery+'s ad spend through October 2023, with general retailers like Target and Walmart contributing 28%. Retail also led contributions to Hulu (13%) and Pluto TV (12%), with car dealerships dominating Pluto TV's retail spending.

Technology advertisers, making up 19% of Max's ad spend, were led by telecommunications companies like AT&T and T-Mobile (61%), followed by software firms such as Adobe, Canva, and IBM (24%).

Paramount+ gained nearly 10% of its ad revenue from technology advertisers, totaling over $15 million, with T-Mobile and Verizon as leading spenders.

MediaRadar standalone streaming services data were sampled from the ad-supported streaming packages, across a panel of 2mm people in the US. Data range from January 1, 2022 through October 31, 2023 for six top platforms.

NEW YORK—The ad intelligence and sales enablement platform MediaRadar has announced the acquisition of Kantar Group’s North American Advertising Intelligence unit, Vivvix. 

It is the first major acquisition for MediaRadar, which is backed by Thompson Street Capital Partners and Endicott Capital. 

Vivvix offers competitive advertising intelligence across both digital and traditional media channels, such as mobile apps, streaming services, and social media. 

Currently, more than 20,000 users rely on MediaRadar’s extensive database that tracks more than $200 billion of annual media spend across more than four million brands. Vivvix’s advertising intelligence footprint spans $250 billion-plus in media spend. Combining the two operations will position MediaRadar as a major source of advertising data and insights, serving the entire industry ecosystem from media owners to agencies and brands, the companies said. 

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

“By combining Vivvix and MediaRadar, we offer a complete view of the entire advertising industry,” said Todd Krizelman, CEO and co-founder of MediaRadar. “Together, our unparalleled market intelligence will enable strategic decision-making, allowing media sellers, brands, and agencies to navigate the dynamic advertising landscape with even greater confidence.”

More specifically, the acquisition of Vivvix, with its complementary channel coverage, bolsters MediaRadar’s data capabilities in several ways. It introduces new areas such as local TV, radio, and search, while also extending its reach into out of home advertising and the Canadian market. Unified as one platform, MediaRadar will deliver the most comprehensive near real-time advertising intelligence available, the companies said. 

“When we launched Vivvix earlier this year, our mission was to become the world’s leading ad intelligence company,” said Andrew Feigenson, CEO of Vivvix. “In joining forces with MediaRadar, we take a significant step toward that goal. We are incredibly excited to work with Todd and his team to achieve a common vision and deliver a complete view of the market to media companies, marketers, and agencies.”

“Today’s transaction brings Vivvix together with a highly complementary business that goes a long way to delivering on their vision of building the most future-facing advertising intelligence business in North America,” added Chris Jansen, chief executive, Kantar. “We’re excited about the possibilities that emerge from the combined entity and wish the Vivvix and MediaRadar team well on the next phase of their growth journey.”

MediaRadar and Vivvix are both AI-powered platforms, with AI used to track and collect advertising insights across media channels, as well as to power sales recommendations and prospecting tools. Following the Transaction, MediaRadar’s expanded resources and capital will allow it to further invest in cutting-edge data and tech capabilities, building next-gen solutions that drive maximum value for its customers and cementing its position as the industry’s analytics leader.

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett served as legal advisor and Solomon Partners served as financial advisor to MediaRadar.

Weil, Gotshal & Manges served as legal advisor and Barclays Bank PLC, acting through its Investment Bank (“Barclays”) served as financial advisor to Kantar.

Although the great Hollywood walkout of 2023 is only partially over, the TV industry is estimated to have lost $1.6 billion in ad revenues, a 17% YoY decrease when compared to the same period in 2022, according to a new report from MediaRadar. 

Primetime and late night TV were impacted the most by the strike, with the combined sector losing an estimated $1 billion in revenues. Ad spend for the combined sector decreased 12% YoY to $7.6 billion, with primetime television experiencing a drop of 11% from $7 billion to $6.2 billion, while late night saw a 15% decrease from $1.7 billion to $1.4 billion. 

“Late night is one of the most profitable hours of TV, and a lack of talk shows during the writers strike really affected advertisers,” said Todd Krizelman, CEO and co-founder, MediaRadar. “Now that the strike is over and talk shows are returning, we should see advertisers eager to pour money into those slots.”

Daytime TV is a bit more of a mixed bag, however. While ad investment on daytime TV talk shows dipped 6% YoY from May through August to $300 million—down from nearly $321 million spent during the same period in 2022—it’s anticipated advertising will also be down in September. 

The few remaining daytime soaps still on the air, however, continued production throughout the writers strike due to a separate SAG-AFTRA agreement that expires in July 2024. During the strike, new daytime drama content aired and advertising was up 21% YoY May through August to over $84 million.

From May through August, overall spend on TV ads reached $14.4 billion from 7.2K brands, a 10% YoY decrease from the $16 billion in ad spend from the same period in 2022. The number of brands also decreased 7% YoY from 7.8K advertising via TV in 2022, according to the researcher.

For its latest report, MediaRadar analyzed a sampling of ad revenue from national TV programming categories. Additionally, it sampled ad spend on national TV broadcasts, national print publications, and newspapers from top DMA’s, as well as online channels for films, TV shows, and subscription services. The data spans from January 2022 through August 2023. 

NEW YORK—As Hollywood struggles with its first major actors and writers' strike since the 1960s, a new analysis by MediaRadar quantifies some of the advertising trends that the strike could impact. The study noted that some genres like soap operas and sitcoms that saw growth before the strike are particularly vulnerable.  

“TV broadcasters could be hit hard if this strike continues for many more months,” said Todd Krizelman, CEO, MediaRadar. “Lucrative late night talk shows specifically have been off the air already for a couple months. Soon, fall programming, including talk shows, soap operas, and primetime sitcoms should air. However, that is likely to be delayed since they rely on writers throughout the summer for scripts.”  

The study found that TV advertising in the first half of 2023 amounted to over $26 billion, representing contributions from more than 8,500 brands. MediaRadar's research reveals that talk shows, soap operas, and sitcoms accounted for 9%—or $2.36 billion—of TV ad expenditure in the first half (H1) of 2023. This figure is already a 5% decrease compared to H1 of the previous year.

Advertising slots are typically booked 1-3 months ahead, sometimes even earlier. Coupled with many programs being on summer break at the moment, the full effects of the ongoing strike are yet to be discerned, the researchers stressed. 

But the potential loss is considerable. The strike could significantly impact broadcasters. MediaRadar's data suggests that the key ad revenue streams of broadcasters—namely TV sitcoms and soap operas that have demonstrated year-over-year advertising growth from H1 2022 to H1 2023—face a potential financial setback due to the absence of new programming.

Ad revenue for TV soap operas climbed from $101.5 million in H1 2022 to $118.6 million in H1 2023, indicating a 17% year-over-year increase. TV sitcoms also saw an increase, moving up from $1.9 billion in H1 2022 to $2.2 billion in H1 2023, marking a 16% rise year-over-year.

Conversely, TV talk shows experienced a minor decline in ad spend by 1%—from $478.2 million in H1 2022 to $474.9 million in H1 2023. 

Primetime TV programming witnessed a more substantial drop of 15% from $13.1 billion in H1 2022 to $11.2 billion in H1 2023. Despite these reductions, both remain crucial sources of revenue for broadcasters and are sectors that will endure the financial implications of the strike.

For the study, MediaRadar analyzed a sampling of film ad spend from national TV broadcasts, national print publications and newspapers from top DMA’s, as well as online channels like websites, OTT channels, podcasts, social platforms, and YouTube. Data is from January to June 2023.

More information is available at https://mediaradar.com/. 

When CNN brought Chris Licht aboard in May 2022 to replace Jeff Zucker as CEO, part of Licht’s agenda was to provide a (what it termed) a more “bipartisan” approach to the news—something the 43-year old network had touted for decades—but had departed from in recent years, based on what pundits (mostly from the right) were saying. 

In hindsight, several days after Licht’s departure from the network, data shows that perhaps that approach wasn’t so good for the network’s viewership or bottom line. 

According to data from MediaRadar, advertisers spent $312.6 million in the first four months of 2023, a decline of 39% compared to the previous time period in 2022. In April alone, revenue fell 48% with just $80 million in ads. 

But it wasn’t only the revenues, but the number of advertisers that declined. CNN had a total of 2,100 advertisers in the first four months of 2023 whereas that number was 2,700 in the same period in 2022, a drop of 23%. From January to April 2023, 17 companies invested more than $2 million on CNN’s ad platforms, compared to 68 in the first four months of 2022, a decline of 75%. Companies that reduced their ad buys by 90% included Disney, Apple and Cisco, according to Media Radar.

That revenue decline was also compounded by the fact that CNN had also burned through reportedly $1 billion to launch CNN+, which Licht had to shut down early in his term due to the anemic number of subscribers and lack of support from its parent company.

“Our data analysis suggests a significant downward trend in CNN's ad revenue during Chris Licht's tenure, reflecting substantial declines both in total spend and in the number of advertisers,” said Todd Krizelman, CEO and co-founder of MediaRadar, in a statement.

Ratings fell too. During Licht’s time as CEO, CNN's average daily reach decreased by 7% year-over-year, according to Samba TV. Meanwhile, viewership during this same time period (May 2022 - June 2023) with regard to the network's competitors, including MSNBC and Fox News, has inversely shown year-over-year increases in average daily household reach. Examining reach for the three cable news networks as well as Newsmax, Newsmax experienced the largest overall increase at +23%), most likely driven by the turmoil at Fox News.

CNN's controversial town hall with former president Trump on May 10 was a ratings boom for the network, however with 4.8 million U.S. households watching CNN that day. Since then, however, CNN has seen its ratings slide, with no day since then bringing in over 3.5 million U.S. household tune-ins, Samba TV said.

"The data indicates that appetite for news coverage has been slowing in the aftermath of historic spikes from breaking news events like the Ukraine war, the most recent presidential election, and the indictment of former President Trump,” said Cole Strain, vice president of Measurement Science at Samba TV. “Since May of 2022, when new leadership took over, CNN has struggled to keep pace relative to its competitors. The network has seen its average daily reach decrease year over year, while other cable news networks have seen growth. This comparison may have been a contributing factor in the decision to part ways with its now former CEO."

So while it is open to debate that CNN's decline can be attributed a more "bipartisan" approach to news coverage and commentary (CNN's parent company Warner Bros. Discovery has experienced its own turmoil during this period), the lack of any other viable excuse seems to point to exactly that. 

As networks work to finish their upfront deals, new data highlights the ongoing importance of online video for advertisers, with MediaRadar reporting that the category grew by 86% in 2022 to $28.2 billion and that digital advertising easily surpassed spending on TV. 

To understand the state of TV and video advertising entering the Upfront and NewFront season, MediaRadar analyzed a data sample of the ad spend from national broadcasts and cable TV ads in 2022 and found that digital advertising accounted for $68 billion or 47% of the total $144 billion ad spend on digital, print and TV. That easily outpaced TV, which comprised 41% the total spending in 2022.

Top categories investing in TV ads mirrored those in digital, with the top-5 largely consisting of finance, media & entertainment, retail, and tech sectors. However, except for media and entertainment, TV investment in these sectors witnessed a YoY decrease.

The study also found:  

• Online video advertising is up and increasingly more important to advertisers as it rose 86% YoY. MediaRadar observed 31.1k advertisers spend an estimated $28.2 billion in video advertising during 2022.  Top three categories advertised via online video during 2022: software ($1.9 billion), pharma ($1.4 billion), and film promotion ($1.4 billion). Combined spend nearly reached $4.8 billion, this is only 17% of total online video spend.
• OTT investments increased despite the challenges of matching 2021 growth. Around 5.7k brands increased their investment in streaming platforms YoY during 2022. Together their buys were nearly $1.3 billion. Most notably LinkedIn, eHarmony, Kohl’s, and Febreeze contributed to this YoY increase. 
• Short spots increase market share. TV ads 15 seconds or less accounted for $5.2 billion (35% of $14.8 billion) in Q1 2023. That’s a 6% YoY increase from Q1 2022. Ads 16 to 30 seconds decreased 10% YoY to $7b. In Q1 2023, 17% of TV ad spend was dedicated to ads longer than 46 seconds.
• Q1 2023 ad investment dedicated to TV ads less than 15-seconds up 6% while traditional 30-second ads are down YoY.
• Only 1% of advertisers entering the market bought national TV spots. Despite looming recession concerns, MediaRadar observed 52k new advertisers (nearly 80k brands) entered the market in the second half of 2022. Not all of these advertisers purchased TV spots (530), but over 36k invested in digital display, video advertising and other digital formats. 

If you felt like you saw a lot of ads during Super Bowl LVII for movies, TV shows, streaming services and media properties and that there were fewer car ads, you weren’t alone. A new analysis of the  82 ads from 58 unique advertisers airing during the Super Bowl LVII by MediaRadar found that media and entertainment ads dominated Super Bowl LVII advertising while the number of auto ads declined precipitously.

Of the 58 companies that advertised the Super Bowl LVII, 16% showcased more than one brand, as did GM while most focused their attention on a single product, the analysis found.  

Advertisers spanned a range of 16 distinct product categories, with the top five product categories responsible for 75% (44 minutes) of the commercial run time, MediaRadar reported. 

Ranked by minutes of ads, the Top 5 categories were media & entertainment, technology, food, alcohol, and automotive.

Media & Entertainment was by far the largest category with 23 commercials from 13 companies. 

Big game viewers watched over 20 minutes of Entertainment advertisers from 19 brands. This was a mix of TV shows, game titles, upcoming films, and subscription streaming services, the researchers said. 

In addition, four media & entertainment brands ran 60-second ads including Tubi, Warner Bros (AIR) and Universal Pictures (Fast & Furious). 

Three and a half minutes were taken by subscription streaming services - Fox Nation, Netflix, Paramount+, and Tubi ran ads for the game. 

During 2022, MediaRadar said that its data showed more than $2.3 billion was spent advertising streaming services.

The game also featured a lot of movie trailers. Examples include:

• The Walt Disney Company captured the big game audience with 2.5 minutes airing spots for Disney (90-second spot), Guardians of The Galaxy, and Indiana Jones - Dial of Destiny. 
• Warner Bros. Pictures had three movies introducing new trailers:  The Flash (teamed up with Heineken’s non-alcoholic beer), AIR, and Creed 3 (game title), MediaRadar reported.

Among the other major categories, twelve commercials aired for food advertisers ranging from candy and snacks to soda brands. 

Tech advertisers weren’t far behind with nine commercials during the big game. 

Very notably for broadcasters who have long relied on automotive advertising, there were few automotive brands running Super Bowl ads this year, declining from 14 to just six brands. For example, Toyota pickups did not return from last year, nor Nissan’s EV - Ariya. BMW and Mercedes-Benz also did not renew, MediaRadar reported. 

In this analysis, MediaRadar’s data includes national advertising during the Super Bowl LVII aired on Sunday, February 12, 2023.  Local affiliate ads are stripped out, as well as, “house” ads placed for Fox and its subsidiaries. One exemption was made, to include ads placed by Tubi, the free streaming service owned by Fox. 

NEW YORK—A new study of the 2022 NFL preseason ad spend by MediaRadar has found that media and entertainment companies are among the top spenders on ads, with auto, finance and tech companies coming in as the next biggest spenders during NFL pre-season games.

The study also found that spending on ads in NFL games increased by 14% last season to over $6.8 billion and it provided a number of insights into past trends in ad spending by various categories that could continue into the 2022 season. 

The MediaRadar study analyzed the ad spend from national TV broadcasts, including cable networks for the 2020 season, the 2021 season and preseason games August 2021 and August 2022. This analysis includes the following networks: ABC, CBS, CW, Disney, ESPN, Fox, NBC, NFL Network, and Telemundo and the networks’ sister channels (ex: Fox Deportes, etc.).

“Last year, digital currency players made a splash by making their way to NFL’s gameday advertisers,” said Todd Krizelman, CEO and founder of MediaRadar. “Between top crypto names like Coinbase,Crypto.com, and FTX - there was a combined $67 million ad investment. Separately, we saw a surge in electric vehicle companies entering the ad game, bringing new advertisers like Wallbox showcasing their EV charging solutions during the regular NFL season. Will we see the trend of new players joining the big stage continue into the 2022 NFL season? Looking at the spend at preseason games this year, we anticipate companies like streaming services and financial providers amongst the top advertisers.”

Key findings for the preseason games include:

• Media & entertainment is still the leading category in preseason games despite a decrease in ad investment YoY. This year, subscription streaming services, fantasy football leagues and mobile apps remain top spenders.
• Insurance companies, banks and accountants (taxes) were top finance advertisers in 2022’s preseason.
• Within the tech category, cell providers, web browsers and financial software lead this year’s preseason games.
• Auto manufacturers increased investment to promote their new models this preseason

 The study also compared ad spending during the 2020 and 2021 seasons:  

• During the 2020 NFL season (Sept. 2020 - Feb. 2021) there was over $6 billion invested in advertising and that spending on ads in NFL games increased 14% YoY during the 2021 NFL season (Sept. 2021 - Feb. 2022) to over $6.8 billion. 
• The 2021 NFL season saw a 4% YoY increase in the number of companies and a 7% YoY increase in the number of brands showcased during the season.
• 60% (510) companies advertised during both 2020 and 2021 NFL seasons.
• Three top advertisers during 2021’s NFL season were Amazon, Apple and Toyota - with a combined spend nearly reached $571 million. Toyota was the only that decreased YoY by 6%. Amazon and Apple were up 5% YoY and 229% YoY respectively.
• During 2021’s NFL season the top five categories accounted for 23% (over $1.5 billion) of the total ad investment.
• While insurance companies were the top advertisers during the 2021 NFL season, there was a 3% YoY decrease in ad spend - still nearly $497 million was invested from 10 companies.
• Companies such as Intuit, and Lowe’s were advertising their apps while crypto (Crypto.com and FTX) and gambling companies (888.com) joined the ranks to showcase apps.
• Investment during the NFL season for quick service restaurants topped $282 million despite a 19% YoY decrease.
• Ad spend from cell providers exceeded $271 million during the 2021 season - a nearly 40% decrease. All major advertisers decreased: AT&T was down 70% YoY, T-Mobile reduced investment 55% YoY, and Verizon decreased 4% YoY.
• 81% of the nearly $225 million invested in 2021 advertising import automotive brands came from three top NFL season spenders: Honda, Hyundai and Toyota all invested over $50 million each.

NEW YORK—The ad intelligence and sales platform MediaRadar has issued a new report that found YouTube captured nearly half a billion dollars ($482 million) of the $5.5 billion spent on online video ads in Q1 2022.

MediaRadar produced the analysis of where advertisers are spending their online video ad dollars based on a large sampling of online video advertising from traditional websites and YouTube. 

Notably, this analysis doesn’t include streaming video platforms or social media, which are major contributors to the nearly $50 billion the IAB estimates will be spent on digital video advertising in 2022. 

It found that $5.5 billion was invested in online video advertising in Q1 alone, with a 31% increase of advertisers spending across both YouTube and other video platforms compared to Q4 2021. 

The online video ad spend for YouTube increased by an even larger amount by 57% from Q4 2021 to Q1 2022. 

However, video Spend without YouTube spend was down 56% quarter to quarter. 

In 2021, according to the sample, online video ad investment grew 42% YoY from 2020 to over $14.8 billion.

Other key findings include:  

• The number of advertisers using online video increased in Q1 2022 by 21% QoQ.
• The number of advertisers only buying YouTube’s online video increased 55% QoQ Q1 2022 to over 9,000 companies.
• Companies advertising on both non-YouTube and YouTube increased as well 42% QoQ last quarter (nearly 4,000) from Q4 2021.
• However the number of advertisers that bought only non-YouTube video platforms decreased 45% QoQ in Q1 2022 compared to Q4 2021.
• In terms of the issues of ad duration, non-YouTube video platforms are leaning heavily into shorter ads that are 30 seconds and less. Those ads accounted for 98% of the ad load.
• YouTube also runs ads that are 30 seconds and less - 83%. However, the platform also had 11% of the ads from 31 to 60 seconds. There were 6% of ads longer than 60 seconds.
• Other video platforms rely heavily on pre-roll ad placement (97%) and that same strategy found in 2021. However, in Q1 2022 there’s a shift with adding a small amount of post-roll ads. (Full 2021: pre-roll (98%), mid-roll (2%)).
• YouTube saw post-roll receive the largest percentage of ads in Q1 2022 at 42%. Pre-roll followed at 30% and the remaining 28% were mid-roll ads.

WASHINGTON—With the COVID-19 pandemic boosting streaming hours, it’s very likely that the viewing habits of a majority of consumers have been altered for good. The advertising market may soon follow them as OTT offers new opportunities for both sides of the coin to capitalize on, as detailed in the MediaRadar-hosted panel “The Future of OTT: What to Expect.”

Linear TV advertising has been down since the start of the pandemic in March, as economic realities changed for many companies and TV content that would draw big audiences and could charge large advertising fees was either postponed or cancelled. However, the OTT streaming market has, for lack of a better word, according to Bill Condon, senior vice president, Advertising Partnerships at Xumo, “done well in this new reality.” Condon told the panel that Comcast’s free ad-supported streaming service Xumo has seen spikes in the number of people watching its content and subsequently a spike in its advertising.

Matthew Graham, general manager for Acorn TV, a U.S.-based SVOD service specializing in British programming, supported Condon’s assertion, saying how in the early days of the pandemic they were seeing between two and three-times the increase in value in their ad opportunities. While those numbers have come down in recent months, they are still ahead of where they were in February before lockdowns began. “There feels like there’s been a shift,” he said.

There’s more to that shift than just an increase in ad-supported streaming, as Justin Gutschmidt, head of National Sales, Premion, explained to the panel. The opportunities available with advertising on OTT are both bigger and more specific than what is traditionally available through linear.

The practice of targeted advertising is more of a reality in OTT, engaging viewers with content that is more relevant to them, whether that be based on their interests or where they are located. OTT advertising also provides advertisers more specific data about the reach and frequency of their ads and whether or not they are successfully driving consumers to their product or website—a whole new way to measure the response to an ad, Gutschmidt said.

“OTT is a safe haven,” he said, “an opportunity to avoid the problems of a traditional world,” while at the same time providing the more traditional benefits of a big screen experience with the specificities of digital marketing.

While there are big players in the market—Disney+, Peacock, Hulu, for example—Condon said that OTT also presents an easier entry point than linear TV, allowing for underserved markets and consumers to find something for them. He pointed specifically to OTT offerings from Black News Channel and Revry, which is targeted toward the LGBTQ community.

Some may believe that if given the choice, consumers will lean more toward SVOD platforms like Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video or the like that generate revenue primarily on their subscription numbers and have little need for ads. However, especially in light of the impact the pandemic has had on viewers’ entertainment budgets, AVOD services—like Peacock—are becoming popular because they not only can help offset the cost of adding another streaming service—while still providing high-quality content—they also provide a new advertising experience that is more appealing to the consumer. Xumo, according to Condon, offers advertising breaks for about 7-9 minutes for every hour, compared to the 20-22 minutes per hour of traditional linear TV. 

Gutschmidt said that in his experience, he has found that about three-fourths of people are in favor of ad-supported platforms so that they can help lower the cost they are paying for OTT services, especially as they are often coming from cutting the cord and the associated prices.

Traditional linear networks have also actively acknowledged the role of OTT moving forward, with the likes of ViacomCBS, NBCUniversal and others launching their own OTT services (CBS All Access/Paramount+ and Peacock). Todd Krizelman, CEO of MediaRadar, says that this points to OTT’s “unquestionable momentum” and likely staying power.

It is still early days, as Graham points out, and OTT is still likely to continue to evolve, potentially at a rapid pace, which will present huge opportunities for any company that wants to participate in OTT advertising. But, Gutschmidt acknowledges that there is a learning curve for those who try to make the move from traditional linear to OTT, and that education will be key to help bridge any gaps between the two practices.

NEW YORK—With Quibi announcing that it will be shutting down operations, the question of why Jeffrey Katzenberg’s short-form, mobile-focused streaming service failed is sure to raise a number of theories. According to MediaRadar, Quibi was simply not able to make in-roads against new streaming competitors despite major ad campaigns.

In an analysis of Quibi’s ad spending in 2020, MediaRadar found that the streaming service spent $63 million on TV, print and digital advertising. This put it as the fifth largest advertiser in the streaming category, year-to-date, behind (in alphabetical order) Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Hulu and Peacock.

Quibi made large advertising pushes ahead of its April launch, staring with an ad during the Super Bowl in February. It again made a big push in July, August and September. Quibi was still advertising in October, with MediaRadar reporting to have seen an ad as recently as Oct. 18, although the company found that Quibi’s efforts were tailing off.

“Quibi was a bold business model looking to capitalize on the rise of streaming and the fact that consumers are always on the go,” said Todd Krizelman, CEO and co-founder, MediaRadar. “The application was slick and the production value was high. Many feel the timing was off, launching at the start of a pandemic. But this narrative doesn’t entirely fit. Due to COVID-incudced lockdowns in April, commute times were eliminated, people had more disposable time than ever to sample new services, like Quibi. We also learned that people were willing to pay for video content. For example, Disney+ subscriptions surged much faster than expected. 

“What was, and is a real constraint, is the degree of competition. It’s more severe than ever. Disney+, Apple TV+, HBO Max and the introduction of Peacock around the same time made it hard to break through the noise. Services, such as TikTok, Snapchat and Triller—and of course YouTube—pressed on the accelerator during these months, flooding the market with short-form video.”

For more information, visit www.mediaradar.com.  

NEW YORK—OTT and other content distribution services are continuing to emerge, but when it comes to the top option for advertising, TV remains king. That was one of the main findings from “A Year in Television: MediaRadar’s Overview of TV Advertising in 2018 and 2019.”

The report covers from the second quarter of 2018 to the end of the first quarter in 2019. While it touches on what categories are the top advertisers and what new ones are emerging, the big takeaways touch on how recent mergers and acquisitions will impact the ad landscape, the shortening of TV ads and how big, live TV events remain big draws for advertisers.

Over the last year, AT&T’s acquisition of Time Warner, Disney’s purchase of Fox and others caused 13% of the entire TV market to switch hands, per MediaRadar. As a result, Disney is poised to emerge as the top company in terms of total nation TV ad dollars captured; with NBCUniversal, the two companies could capture $4 out of every $10 spent on national TV advertising going forward. The potential merger of Viacom and CBS could cause further ripple effects.

MediaRadar also found that the average length of TV ads have taken a dip, dropping 8% year-over-year. The number of TV ads that run 15 seconds has increased by 18% and now make up just over 55% of all television ads. Six second ads also saw a big increase of 36% year-over-year, but still makes up less than 1% of all TV ads.

The key finding as to why traditional TV advertising is still on top, according to MediaRadar, is the pull of advertising during huge live events, none more so than the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl more than doubled the next closest event in ad revenue (the 2019 AFC Championship Game) and saw a 58% renewal rate.

“With yearly events like the Super Bowl bringing in such high quantities of ad revenue, it is hard to imagine the television format going anywhere anytime soon,” read MediaRadar’s report. “Despite some usual and expected shifts, 2018 and 2019 have shown us the continued force for the TV ad landscape, and we expect much of the same for the rest of 2019 and into 2020.”

The full report is available here.