Two-fifths of consumers now prefer ad-supported video over paid subscriptions, according to DoubleVerify’s (DV) latest report.
The ‘DV Global Insights: Trends in the Modern Streaming Landscape’ report – which draws on DV’s proprietary measurement data, a global consumer survey of 22,000 viewers, and a global survey of nearly 2,000 marketers – found that 41% of consumers favour ad-supported video, showing the opportunity that exists in connected TV (CTV) environments.
The potential is clear – 72% of marketers surveyed said that ads placed in CTV environments outperform their campaign baselines. However, 68% of marketers say they must have transparency to justify the high cost of CTV advertising. And this transparency problem is a major issue, which extends into wastage, with 63% of marketers saying it’s difficult to tell whether their CTV buys are actually reaching real viewers.
Despite the challenges, 54% of marketers have increased their CTV spend over the past year, and 66% of non-CTV advertisers plan to begin investing in the channel in the next 12 months.
DV’s proprietary data revealed that CTV ad impressions rose 66% year-over-year, with particularly strong growth in markets such as the Netherlands, Indonesia, and Singapore. But only 50% of CTV impressions offered full app transparency in 2024.
A widespread issue is the ‘TV Off’ problem, where ads continue to play even after the TV screen has been turned off. This, coupled with other media quality issues in CTV, is costing advertisers an average of $700,000 in wasted spend per billion impressions.
There’s also the obstacle of bot fraud, which accounts for 65% of all CTV fraud. This equates to four million infected devices generating fake traffic every day.
“CTV has become a centrepiece of digital video strategy with huge growth potential for both branding and performance campaigns,” said Mark Zagorski, CEO of DoubleVerify. “It is still a maturing medium, however, and this report highlights the very real challenges inherent in that evolution. A lack of transparency, an increase in rogue behaviour, and the lack of industry operational standards create an environment in which media waste is becoming a growing issue. These are challenges that a combination of technology innovation plus industry collaboration can address to the advantage of all advertisers.”
*DoubleVerify is a client of Bluestripe Communications, owned by Bluestripe Group, publisher of NDA
