Ad Views in On-Demand Shows Up 26%: FreeWheel

By Jon Lafayette
( Broadcasting & Cable )
published

The number of ad views in on-demand content rose 26% in the third quarter from a year ago, according to a report by Comcast’s FreeWheel unit.

FreeWheel’s Q3 Video Monetization Report said ad views grew faster than video views, which rose 18%.

Much of that growth in ad views came on IP-based MVPD platforms. Those IP delivered ads rose 87% in the quarter.

Related: FreeWheel Launches Tools for OTT, VOD Ad Inventory

Also posting strong growth were ads appearing on virtual MVPDs. While 78% of the ads were delivered by MVPDs, to just 22% by vMVPDs, the growth rate was nearly twice that of MVPDs.

FreeWheel said that 60% of total ad views took place via OTT devices and smartphones. A year ago, they accounted for 44% of ad views. Ad views on OTT devices were up 45% and smartphones were up 63%.

Set-top VOD accounted for 17% of ad views, down from 20%. STP ad views were up 11% from last year.

Live programming accounted for 33% of ad views, up from 23% a year ago. Ad views in live programming were up 56% year over year.

Ad views in full episodes were up 27% from a year ago. But their share of ad views dipped to 56% from 57% a year ago.

Ad views in short clips were down 20%. Their share fell to 11% from 20%.

Jon Lafayette
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.