VOD Ad Impressions Grow to 6.8B in 2nd Quarter

Dynamically inserted commercials in cable operators’ video-on-demand programming produced 6.8 billion impressions in the second quarter, up 20% from a year ago, according to a new report.

The report covers programming viewed over Charter, Comcast and Cox set-top-boxes and their IP and mobile platforms.

Related: Nielsen, FreeWheel Expand OTT, On-Demand Measurement

According to the report, VOD remains a low-clutter environment, with an average of less than four spots per mid-roll break.

Cable operators have also been working to reduce the number of ads that are repeated within a program. The report says that 57% of consumers see the same campaign once during a single episode.

Related: comScore Lines Up Networks to Test Campaign Ratings

Ad completion rates in mid-roll pods remain at a high 99% level.

The report said that 80% of the ad impressions were delivered to viewers watching via set-top boxes. The rest were viewed in other devices connected to services including Xfinity Stream, Spectrum TV and Cox Contour.

“Despite connected devices capturing more market share in 2018, we continue to see tremendous growth in VOD DAI, mostly due to a consistent increase in inventory sell out rates.” said Joel Hassell, CEO of Canoe Ventures, which released the report.

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.