Logo

Is Viewer Tolerance for 30-Second Online Ads Improving? Here Are the Numbers

Sep 12, 2013  •  Post A Comment

Online video viewing is up, and it’s increasingly shifting from the living room to mobile devices, according to a report by MediaPost citing new data from FreeWheel.

Meanwhile, the 30-second ad spot appears to be gaining acceptance online.

"The 30-second ad spot — historically the most common ad length in broadcast TV — has become increasingly prevalent in digital video over the past four quarters," the piece reports. "In fact, 50% of ad views are now 30-second ads — up from 43% last year."

Said Doug Knopper, co-founder and co-CEO of FreeWheel: “This trend indicates increased viewer comfort watching 30-second ads online, movement of linear TV creative to digital video environments, and more effective digital inventory management by publishers looking to better reflect the TV ad experience."

The report adds: "Thirty-second ads now comprise almost 50% of all ad views, with viewers completing 15- and 30-second ads at nearly identical rates."

Online platforms continue to experiment in an effort to find the right mix of content and advertising, the piece notes, citing different approaches by digital-only distributors and those who have moved into digital from traditional outlets.

"Over the past year, digital pure-play networks drove over 80% of ad views from short-form content," the story reports, "while linear-cum-digital publishers like NBC and ESPN monetized a more diverse content mix, the online video technology firm found."

Citing FreeWheel’s findings, the report notes: "Year-over-year, long-form ad loads for traditional-cum-digital publishers rose 12%, while mid- and short-form ad loads remained flat."

FreeWheel’s data also spotlights the shift from linear TV — “living room” viewing — to "anytime, anywhere, any device viewing," the piece reports.

"Overall video view growth increased 38% year-over-year, largely driven by tablets and mobile phones," MediaPost reports. "Mobile continues to show strong growth, comprising 13.2% of all views in the second quarter of the year. However, monetization has been a challenge, with mobile totaling only 5.6% of total ad views. Tablets and ‘over the top’ devices (from gaming consoles to set-top boxes like Roku) are more aligned with TV-style viewing habits, with long-form content generating approximately 45% of total ad views."

The FreeWheel study reportedly examined about 18 billion video views during the second quarter of 2013.

One Comment

  1. Just because there are more :30 ads online does not mean more people are watching them, or acceptant of them. It just means there are more people pissed off while trying to get to where they wanted to go online, and more computers are bogged down with too much crap. I remember when going on-line was quick and easy – now it’s slow and cumbersome.

Your Comment

Email (will not be published)