TV viewers’ enthusiastic embrace of connected TV platforms is having a transformative effect on the entire video advertising ecosystem, according to our 2018 Video Benchmarks. Over the last few years, as consumer adoption of CTV has soared to about 190 million users, or the 57% of the population that has migrated from linear TV to devices like Roku and Apple TV and to ad-supported streaming services, advertisers have followed suit. And while eMarketer notes that CTV likely represents only a small piece of overall digital ad spending, those investments are having an outsize impact on advertisers’ ability to connect and engage with hard-to-reach audiences.

The Q4 and full-year 2018 Video Benchmark report looks at these and other emerging ad performance trends as indicated by such metrics as viewer click-through, completion and viewability rates, as well as bot traffic and time spent. It also provides breakdowns related to these numbers based on advertiser purchase method (i.e., premium media vendor vs. media aggregator) and targeted device (i.e., desktop, mobile, tablet and connected television [CTV]). What do this quarter’s numbers reveal? They underscore some of the biggest shifts and trends in advertising that gained force during 2018 including:

• Connected TV overtakes mobile as video advertising’s growth engine
  While mobile dominated video ad impressions throughout 2017, peaking in Q4 with a 39% share, CTV surged ahead in 2018 and the year-over-year comparison is dramatic. In Q4 2017, CTV served just 15% of ad impressions while by Q4 2018, that share had increased a stunning 193% to represent 44% of impressions.
• 30-second ads stage a comeback with CTV
  With CTV, ad lengths are increasing. Between Q4 2017 and Q4 2018, the share of impressions commanded by 30-second spots more than doubled from 28% to 58%. At the same time, the declines in mobile and desktop viewing by consumers has driven a 78% decrease in the share of impressions of 6-second ads. And 15-second spots, which held the lion’s share of impressions throughout 2017, declined 43% year over year. With 30-second ads grabbing a bigger percentage of impressions, the average time spent with video increased 35% year-over-year, from 17 seconds in Q4 2017 to 23 seconds in Q4 2018.
• Premium get highest completion, earning higher rates
  While video completion rates are up for all devices, CTV is the winner in the category with 95% of ads playing all the way through. Premium vendors, who charge premium prices, are investing in CTV and providing the performance advertisers expect. In Q4 2018, premium vendors ran more than half their impressions on CTV platforms.

Visit Extreme Reach’s video benchmarks report to review complete findings for Q4 and the full year.