Over-the-Top Video Ad Spending Jumped in 2017

Global spending on advertising on over-the-top video is growing explosively, according to video platform SpotX.

Advertiser spending on OTT inventory grew 18 times year over year in October. OTT’s share of total digital video spending rose from 8% a year ago to 26% in October 2017. But the end of the year, SpotX expects OTT’s share to hit nearly 30%.

SpotX, a supply side platform, defines the OTT video category as including broadcast-quality inventory from TV networks, Multichannel Video Programming Distributors and other live, linear and video-on-demand streaming services delivered via connected TV devices as well as desktop and mobile screens.

Related: National TV Ad Spending Seen Flat in 2018, Says Magna

It works with more than 65 demand-side platforms, but the ones showing the biggest growth include Adobe Advertising Cloud, dataxu, The Trade Desk, VideoAmp and ZypMedia. Daily spending by those five DSPs is up 675%, SpotX said.

“We’ve seen DSP partners increasing their focus on OTT in response to a shift in consumption habits,” said Kelly McMahon, VP of Global Demand Operations at SpotX. “By making addressable OTT inventory available to buyers through their platforms, they’re placing themselves ahead of the curve in terms of innovation and enabling advertisers to reach audiences across multiple screens at scale.”

Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.