Advanced Television

Report: CTV’s share of ad impressions grows

May 18, 2021

Findings from the Video Benchmarks Report from TV and video advertising asset management solution provider Extreme Reach (ER) indicate that broken out by platform, CTV far and away takes the lead among aggregator and premium publisher impressions in Q1.

The report, covering data from Q1 2021, includes ad performance data for impressions served from its AdBridge platform to CTV, desktop, and mobile devices.

Key findings include:

  • The share of impressions served to CTV in Q1 rose to 41 per cent from 35 per cent in Q4 2020, an increase of 17 per cent and the highest share seen by ER since 2019.
  • Q1 2021 furthered the divide between the use of 30-second and 15-second ads. This quarter marked the largest split between the two dominant ad lengths: 88 per cent for 30-second ads and 12 per cent for 15-second spots.
  • After falling behind media aggregators in Q4 2020, premium publishers moved back into the lead, accounting for 54 per cent of impressions, while media aggregators served 46 per cent of impressions in Q1 2021. This was the highest percentage for premium publishers since Q2 2020, when they accounted for 65 per cent share of impressions served by ER.

New to this report is a look at how aggregator and premium publisher impressions in Q1 break out by platform. CTV far and away takes the lead among premium publishers at 69 per cent, followed by mobile in-app at 12 per cent, desktop at 10 per cent, mobile web at 7 per cent and unclassified at 2 per cent. Among aggregators, CTV accounts for just 8 per cent of impressions, mobile in-app is 33 per cent, desktop leads with 36 per cent and mobile web ranks third with 23 per cent of impressions.

“The video ad landscape has been through an extended period of disruption over the last year, as well as significant growth,” said Mary Vestewig, VP, Digital Account Management at Extreme Reach. “Q1 saw advertisers leaning into the familiar, including the ever-popular 30-second ad length and a preference for premium publishers. As vaccination rates increase and life resumes a greater sense of normalcy, we’re watching Q2 trends with great interest.”

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