VOD Ad Impressions Jump to 4.85B in 2Q

Video on demand on cable generated 4.85 billion ad impressions in the second quarter, nearly double the 2.775 billion of a year ago, according to Canoe, the cable industry joint venture.

The increase comes as more advertisers take advantage of dynamic ad insertion—now reaching 35 million homes and 49 of the top 50 markets—and more content becoming available on demand to draw viewers.

The dominant position for ads in VOD programming is mid-roll, with 4.18 billion impressions, compared to 569.3 million in pre-roll and 100.3 million in post-roll. On average, four spots appear in each mid-roll break.

A year ago, there were 2.34 billion mid-roll impressions.

Like last year, the biggest days for VOD ad impressions are on the weekend, with 810.2 million on Saturday and 807.1 million on Sunday. The biggest weekday by a small margin is Monday, with 666.8 million impressions.

Canoe said that 2,166 ad campaigns using VOD ran during the quarter, up from 1,241 a year ago. Of those 2016 campaigns, 22% were network tune in ads. The rest were bought by marketers in a broad range of categories. A year ago, 11% were network tune in ads.

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.