Report: Video ad views up 13% in Europe
March 28, 2023
As the premium video ecosystem continues to evolve and transform, ad views continue to grow, according to the FreeWheel Video Marketplace Report.
In the second half of 2022, ad views saw 13 per cent growth YOY in Europe as viewers embraced a multitude of devices to access the great variety of content available. The ‘big screen’ remains central to these consumption habits, with 56 per cent of viewing in Europe taking place via connected TV (CTV) and set-top box VoD. However, whereas in the US, 62 per cent of content is now accessed through OTT devices – outside ‘pay walls’ – in Europe the large majority of content (80 per cent) requires viewers to access through some kind of authentication.
CTV represents an area of importance for advertisers, as it allows them to reach an engaged audience in a premium, ‘lean back’ environment with relevant messaging. While CTV is becoming more prominent in Europe, data protection regulations are having an impact on advertiser targeting. In Europe most campaigns (72 per cent) are demo-based; while the same percentage (72 per cent) of campaigns in the US use behavioural-based targeting.
Noticeably, there has been a strong rise in programmatic deals in the US (+12 per cent YOY), now accounting for 32 per cent of all transactions – driven by the adoption of CTV and the outstanding growth of FAST channels. In Europe the share of programmatic is still small; equivalent to 14 per cent of all transactions. Most of these transactions are made through programmatic guaranteed deals. These may continue to grow as deals get more curated and privacy measures tighten.