New data out from Unruly and Tremor Video finds that 35% of people have now tried an ad-supported streaming service since the COVID pandemic began and nearly half may cancel traditional cable now that they're tried streaming. For advertisers, this is a good thing because connected TV (CTV) viewers have been show to be more engaged. Nearly three-quarters (71%) are more likely to tell friends about brands seen on CTV and about half are more likely to search for a brand.
According to Hub's latest Decoding the Default report Netflix has become the default for many streaming TV viewers and half say their first viewing source is now an online service - like Netflix, Hulu or one of the network streaming options.
"We've seen a significant boost in streaming TV service subscriptions since the start of the pandemic in March of this year," said Peter Fondulas, principal at Hub and co-author of the study. "But perhaps more significant than the simple increase in online subscriptions is the profound shift in consumers' viewing behaviors generally. Instead of reaching first for the cable remote when it comes time to watch TV, more and more consumers are defining TV viewing, first and foremost, as viewing on streaming services. Whether that shift persists once the pandemic crisis has passed is, of course, the billion-dollar question."
And despite trends away from watching 'live' TV for network programs there continues to be a large viewership for sporting events and that continues to being in the advertisers. MediaRadar has been following how advertisers have been pushing dollars toward sporting events during the COVID-19 pandemic. They've found more than $100 million in ad spending during events from the MLB, NBA, and NHL as the big franchises and leagues returned to play in the late summer months.
"There have been several changes in the makeup of advertisers that are buying these ads," said Todd Krizelman, CEO and Co-founder of MediaRadar. "For example, financial firms and alcohol brands are now making up a larger share of the spend during return to play."
However, not everything is perfect in streaming. DoubleVerify's new report finds that fraud is about 10x more prevalent for CTV than other areas.
"Fraud follows ad spend -- especially within emerging channels like CTV, where measurement technologies are not widely adopted and demand outstrips supply," said Mark Zagorski, CEO of DoubleVerify. "It's interesting to note that bot traffic, the most basic type of fraud, is back in this high-growth environment -- which means it's manageable. We expect CTV will continue to be a strategic area of focus and innovation for the company, as we see the opportunity to develop new performance metrics to build media buyers' confidence and help accelerate the shift of linear TV dollars to CTV."
According to DoubleVerify's report more than 1,000 fraudulent apps have been found on CTV platforms in 2020.
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