AdMonsters Playbook: Cross-Platform Video
According to Nielsen, the 2016 Super Bowl had a peak audience of 115.5 million and an average one of 111.9 million viewers on broadcast, cable and satellite TV — a slightly smaller figure than the previous year. However, 4 million unique viewers streamed the game through various digital mediums (desktop Internet, mobile apps and connected TVs) compared to 2.5 million the year before. The average viewer session time was 101 minutes and the average audience per minute was 1.4 million. Part of this surge could be attributed to CBS’s expansion of streaming to popular OTT devices like Roku and AppleTV.
Four million uniques might seem pretty puny next to 115.5 million, but at the same time we’re talking about the most popular live televised event in the world. The audience streaming the Super Bowl nearly doubled from the previous year, suggesting that when given access across platforms, consumers will diversify their viewing habits for live television just like they have for video. This is a harbinger of what’s coming, fast.
Even people living under rocks know that viewers are accessing video content on a variety of devices and platforms (most popular OTT device under rocks: Roku). Audiences are fragmented, but advertisers want to reach them wherever they are. It’s handy that video — good old sight, sound and motion — is not only advertisers’ preferred way to reach consumers, but also a universal medium across just about every digital platform (wait till you start watching YouTube on your smart watch). Digital video is neither bought nor sold in silos anymore — inventory can be found a wide swath of platforms and devices.
However, delivering content — including advertising — differs from platform to platform. Streamlining and optimizing video delivery across devices requires developing the right tools and processes, as well as working with a variety of tech partners. The Cross-Platform Video playbook (sponsored by SpotX) will explore how digital video providers are delivering cross-platform video advertising, diving into the various channels available and best practices in campaign management. We’ll take a look at programmatic opportunities and how audience metrics compare between linear digital.