On Thursday, September 16, 2021, the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) hosted a webinar that featured several members of the Comcast Advertising team. The webinar, “The Evolving TV Landscape,” showcased data from the latest editions of Effectv’s Viewership Report (TVR) and FreeWheel’s Video Marketplace Report (VMR).
Travis Flood, Director of Consumer Insights at Effectv, and Julia Zangwill, Director, Advisory Services at FreeWheel, presented findings based on analysis of data from the two reports. That data was collected from more than 60 million U.S. households, including 17 million Comcast households, whose members watched more than 15 billion hours of TV during the first half of 2021.
- Comcast households spend an average of 6 hours and 2 minutes with TV daily – and 88% of traditional TV viewing is live.1
- Viewers watch TV throughout the day across an average of more than 30 networks and a variety of “viewstyles.”3
- Streaming is a growing component of those diverse styles of viewing.
- This change is fed by the introduction of new direct-to-consumer (DTC) services that are focused on curating large amounts of content with a limited ad load
- However, the first-choice streaming platform for many viewers is the home TV.4
Moderator Lee Singletary, Sr. Manager of Brand & Industry Relations at Comcast Advertising, then solicited specific guidance for advertisers and marketers from Travis and Julia. Their recommendations included the following.
- Streaming is the perfect complement to a TV advertising campaign. Streaming impressions are +209% more likely to be viewed by households that are light or not TV viewers.5
- The growing adoption of connected TV (CTV) is driving increased buyers’ focus on programmatic advertising. CTV users accounted for 60% of total ad views during 2021’s first half. Meanwhile, programmatic transactions comprised 24% of premium video ad views, resulting in an 84% year-over-year growth.4
- Behavioral targeting increased share due to advances in audience targeting capabilities, with 60%representing behavioral segments rather than demographic elements.4
Lee, Travis, and Julia concluded with four thoughts all advertisers and marketers should take to heart.
- Expect viewer behavior evolution to continue indefinitely.
- Adopt and respond to new alternatives for delivering content and measuring and tracking audience responses, such as programmatic advertising.
- Continue evolving to stay close to audiences and buyers.
- Get and use the best available data to make the best possible advertising and marketing investment decisions.
Click here to download the latest Video Marketplace Report and click here to download the latest TV Viewership Report. To access the complete webinar, including a Q&A session with Travis and Julia and an opportunity to ask your own questions, visit ANA.net.
Sources:
[1] Comcast Aggregate Household Viewership Data. Average daily time spent with live and time-shifted (DVR/VOD) viewing.
[2] Comcast Aggregate Household Viewership Data. 1H 2021. Percentage of viewing occurring outside the house of 7p-11p. Average per quarter.
[3] Comcast Aggregate Household Viewership Data. Average number of networks viewed per month during Q1 and Q2 2021.
[4] FreeWheel U.S. Video Marketplace Report H1 2021. The Viewer Evolution.
[5] Comcast Internal Analysis of Effectv Streaming campaigns (January through June 2021).
