Dive Brief:
- New research from the Interactive Advertising Bureau found a shift in U.S. TV viewing habits and hardware including that 46% of television screen time is spent watching linear TV and 20% on streaming digital video per a press release.
- The research also found 56% of U.S. adults own a streaming enabled TV, a corresponding 56% increase from two years, a development that the IAB described as a fundamental shift in the way Americans watch TV.
- “Advertisers need to follow this digital video programming trend, if they want to reach consumers as their viewing behaviors dramatically shift,” said Anna Bager, Senior Vice President, Mobile and Video, IAB, in the press release.
Dive Insight:
The IAB report underscores why marketers are beginning to view video advertising as a singular strategy rather than break the budget into specific linear TV spends and digital spends.
The research also indicates that streaming video ads might be more effective for a couple of reasons. Results around second screening suggest digital video viewers may be more attentive. Second screening is very popular according to the research, and the breakdown in the data found that multitasking on a second screen happens when watching linear TV 81% of the time and is lower for digital video at 72%. Smartphones were the most popular second screen by a majority for both linear TV and digital video viewing.
Digital viewers may also have a more favorable view of ads overall. Within the subset representing the 56% of U.S. adults who own a streaming enabled TV, 46% reported watching digital video daily, an increase from the 32% reporting the same in 2015. What marketers might find interesting from this group is 50% said they prefer watching commercials over paying for ad-free subscriptions for streaming content on TV, and 44% said commercials during digital video are less intrusive than during linear TV. Additionally, 34% reported commercials on streaming video offer a “better” experience than on linear TV.
