This 12 months, viewers are watching extra CTV in longer classes. Viewership now approaches pandemic-era ranges after pulling again in recent times, in accordance with a brand new examine, “The CTV Tendencies Report 2024,” launched by Wurl, an AppLovin firm.
Common every day hours of CTV viewing are up 5% 12 months over 12 months, in accordance with the examine, which pulls on Wurl’s insights from greater than 4,000 channels and 1 billion month-to-month viewing hours by its CTV advertising platform.
Moreover, common session size is up 7% YoY, indicating that viewers are sticking to a specific program or streaming app for an extended time period on common.
Pandemic-era rebound. Each common every day hours and common classes are climbing again towards their pandemic peaks after declining post-pandemic.
Right here’s how common every day hours elevated throughout the pandemic, dipped and rebounded. The chart is “normalized,” utilizing the latest full information as the usual in opposition to which earlier durations are in contrast.
The common every day hours of viewing peaked in 1Q 2023. After losses later that 12 months, the typical is climbing again, maybe helped alongside by huge occasions in 2024 just like the Paris Olympics and U.S. elections protection.
And right here is the typical session size image.
This metric peaked in 2Q 2022, sooner than the typical every day hours. As new streaming channels and providers enter the market, there’s extra competitors for a viewer’s consideration. The current rise in session size reveals that streaming providers are discovering methods to strengthen viewer loyalty, even on this aggressive setting.
Churn. The churn fee has largely remained secure within the final three years.
Whereas viewing hours elevated later within the pandemic years, churn was a lot greater within the first 12 months, when many individuals have been cooped up at residence and experimenting extra with CTV providers and programming.
Fill charges. Advert fill charges dropped within the first half of 2024 from the earlier 12 months. They look like rising to 2023 ranges as we method the vacations.
Advert-supported subscription gives from premium streamers like Netflix, together with free ad-supported providers (FAST) are growing the quantity of advert stock whereas demand is lagging. Fill charges have been highest in 2022 when there was much less stock.
Dig deeper: Netflix leans into ad-supported tier as subscriber development surges
Why we care. The expansion in CTV advert income assumes that elevated viewership makes the funding worthwhile. Viewer habits issues — these figures present how viewership is fashioned over time. CTV habits didn’t take form till a number of years into the pandemic. In 2020, throughout essentially the most stringent lockdowns, CTV viewing hours have been removed from their highs. The newer improve in common session size, together with decrease churn, make a robust case for extra enduring habits and CTV loyalty taking root for subsequent 12 months and past.