FreeWheel: Primetime is now anytime
August 26, 2015
FreeWheel – a provider of video ad management solutions for media companies – has released the findings from its Q2 Video Monetization Report, an analysis piece that examines the state of the video market. The research highlights the fact that, despite ready access to content all the time, traditional primetime periods of 7pm to 1am are the most popular time for consumers to watch content, regardless of the screen they’re watching it on, with 30 per cent of total daily ad views occurring during this period.
The impressive evolution of premium video FreeWheel has reported quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year since the inception of this report continues to make measurable strides in maturation across the industry with increased viewership, growth across all streaming devices, MVPD-authentication dominance, and robust advertiser demand.
For the first time FreeWheel has reported on how and when viewers are accessing premium video content throughout their daily behaviour. For the most part, overall consumption remains consistent throughout the day with relative share shifting across content durations and device types as the day progresses. Based on this viewer behaviour, with no single daypart occupying a majority share of viewing, this demonstrates that the new primetime is anytime.
Long-form on-demand and live streams are again the two fastest growing content dimensions, at 26 per cent and 146 per cent growth respectively, driving Digital Pure-Play Programmers ever closer to their Broadcast peers in ad impression volume. OTT streaming devices, which are most conducive to viewing long and live content, now account for 10 per cent of video ad views, with 194 per cent year-over-year growth in Q2 2015. The same phenomenal development is true for TV Everywhere adoption, with MVPD app viewership growing at 200 per cent year-over-year.
This, in turn, is reflected in viewer utilisation, with 60 per cent of Programmer long-form and live viewing coming via authenticated channels. On the buy-side, top agencies and brands continue to increase their investment in the premium video market with 94 per cent of Programmers’ ad views coming from direct sold deals. On their end, Programmers continue to push for greater monetisation, increasing ad loads towards linear standards, without sacrificing viewer experience. This trend is especially true on ad loads for live content, with the average live content having 5.7 ads per break.
With 31 billion premium digital video views across the entire market this quarter, inclusive of the volume coming through FreeWheel, the New Living Room (anywhere, anytime, anyhow viewing) continues to take hold and firmly establish itself as a staple of premium video content consumption.
Q2 2015 saw a 25 per cent growth year- over-year in video views and a 32 per cent growth in ad views. Topping the record-breaking growth in Q1 2015 (40 per cent and 43 per cent respectively across video views and video ad views), in what is typically a soft second quarter was going to be a challenge. However, this quarter managed to exceed expectations with ad view growth stronger than any single quarter in 2014.
In a continuation of past trends, long-form and live content were the main drivers of these positive metrics, at 26 per cent and 146 per cent year-over-year growth, respectively. The impressive growth of live viewing across a quarter without the kind of major sporting events enjoyed at other times of the year is a testament to continued viewer allegiance to streaming ultra-premium content in the new living room. At the bite-size end of the spectrum, short-form content continues to chase its peers with a 16 per cent growth in ad views over the last year.
On the Publisher side, Programmers saw a massive 31 per cent of their video ad views come from live viewing this quarter, bringing the summation of long-form or live consumption to 66 per cent. Still behind in biting into these ad-stuffed pie-pieces, Digital Pure-Play Publishers only saw 3 per cent of their ad views coming from live and 10 per cent from long-form content. Furthermore, while both saw similar top-line growth, video view growth outpaced that of ad views for Digital Pure-Play Publishers. As more hungry eyes are drawn to their ever-growing original programming and simulcast offerings, effective monetisation for Digital Pure-Play Publishers will become key across all content types.