CTV closes in on linear for consumer ad attention, report finds

Dive Brief:

U.S. viewer attention to connected TV (CTV) ads grew to 51.5% during the first quarter of this year, up from 49.2% during the previous quarter, according to a new report from DoubleVerify and TVision shared with Marketing Dive.
While that percentage is still lower than linear TV ad attention (54.5%), attention for ads on premium CTV apps now outrank linear ads (56.1%). CTV ad volume increased across all major brand categories during Q1 compared to the same quarter the year prior.
Most households during the period utilized three or fewer CTV apps, with YouTube (20%), Netflix (17%) and Hulu (10%) ranking as the top three for share of time spent viewing. Original equipment manufacturers (OEM) free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) apps, like The Roku Channel, saw a 9% increase in household reach during Q1 2024 compared to the prior quarter.

Dive Insight:

CTV has continued to gather momentum from marketers, and DoubleVerify and TVision’s “State of CTV Advertising Report” indicates that those ad dollars may be well spent. CTV ad attention increased by 2.3% in Q1 compared to the prior quarter, while ad attention on premium CTV apps — which are defined as apps that offer an ad-supported and ad-free subscription model — saw an even more significant increase from 51.7% in Q4 2023 to 56.1% in Q1. Meanwhile, linear ad attention saw more modest gains, landing at 54.5% in Q1 versus 54% during the quarter prior, a potential sign that attention to CTV ads may soon trump that of its more traditional counterpart.

“Each quarter we see advancements in CTV advertising - in terms of reach and scale but also in terms of attention and engagement from viewers,” said Yan Liu, CEO of TVision, in a statement.

Accordingly, CTV ad volume has continued to increase, per the report, with “more CTV advertising happening now than ever before.” Industries with significant increases in ad spend in Q1 2024 versus the year-ago period include education, electronics and consumer products. The report also identified that, predictably, government and political ads saw the largest increase as we approach the upcoming election.

Most households in the first quarter tuned in to three or fewer CTV apps, and did so on more than two devices. While the quantity of apps accessed was fairly comparable across all income levels, the report found that lower-income houses were significantly more likely to use ten or more apps than higher income households. Reach by app was led by Netflix (64%), YouTube (57%), Hulu (41%) and Prime Video (34%), and YouTube, Netflix and YouTube TV all increased their share of time viewing during the period.

Among other findings, the study found that consumer attention to ads varies by its position in a pod, or the grouping of ads that are played back to back, with the first ad in a pod performing best across both linear and CTV. For CTV, the last ad played in a pod captures more attention than the middle ad, at 50.7% and 48.3%, respectively. For linear, the middle ad and last ad in the pod are comparable for their ability to capture attention at 53.4% and 53.5%, respectively. Pod duration also matters: On CTV, shorter ad breaks, classified as 60 seconds or less, secure the highest levels of attention, regardless of the length of the ad.

CTV ad attentiveness also varies by time of day, with engagement steadily increasing throughout the day before peaking at primetime, or the time in between what the report titles as “early fringe” and “late night.” However, the most opportune time of day for exposure is during the early morning, per the report, with primetime and late night being the least favorable times.

Data for the CTV report was gathered from Jan. 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024 from 5,000 homes across the U.S., unless otherwise indicated within the findings.