I think it is fair to say that over this past year, the majority of us have consumed a fair amount of content through the various streaming platforms and as such, consumer engagement with CTV has developed quicker than anyone could have feasibly expected. At the peak of lockdowns last year, CTV viewing rose by more than 1 billion hours as weeks became months.
It didn't take long for advertisers to react to this. As we move through 2021, we can expect to see not only traditional TV budgets but also Social and Display budgets continue to be repositioned to make way for CTV inventory. By the close of the year, most CTV buying will be carried out programmatically through DSPs, which are swiftly building features to their platforms that support the CTV market.
Whilst we are all hopeful of being able to get outside again as vaccines are rolled out across the world, it’s widely accepted that our viewing behavior has altered so much in the last year that it is highly unlikely that it will return to how it was pre-pandemic. SpotX carried out a survey that shows 80% of US CTV views watch Ad-supported content, especially if they get free content. According to eMarketer, ‘advertisers spent an additional $1.16 billion on programmatic CTV video ads in 2020 compared with 2019, and incremental spending in 2021 will increase to $2.37 billion. That $2.37 billion will represent almost 29% of all incremental spending on programmatic video ads this year, or about 15% of growth in total programmatic display’.
2020 compounded a shift in consumer behavior that was already well underway - and where television goes, advertising will surely follow. 2021 will therefore see smart TV manufacturers rapidly building out the technology and interfaces to harness the ever-growing popularity and reliance on OTT Apps by making them more discoverable via enhanced search functions. Advertisers, now that they have gained confidence around brand safety, data protection, and privacy controls, will increase advertising budgets in streaming services to avoid losing the audiences that they may never see again via traditional TV ads.
Reach out to our BB3 team to explore solutions and manage through uncertainty together.
