蘑菇AV

US consumers are flocking to low-cost plans with some amount of advertising.In 2022, increases were especially pronounced among ad-supported video on-demand (AVOD) services.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss how the upcoming giant sports streaming service from Fox, Warner Bros. Discovery, and ESPN benefits The Walt Disney Co.; what will happen when Hulu and Disney+ combine; and why Disney is now choosing to invest so much in Epic Games. "In Other News," we talk about what to make of Roku's current market position and what YouTube Premium has taught us about ad-free video. Tune in to the discussion with our analyst Ross Benes.

Amazon debuts at Upfront Week, showcasing its ad-supported streaming services and more: It鈥檚 a strategic move to expand its digital advertising reach.

And then the second one that Evelyn's referring to, US antitrust case brought against Google in 2020 went to trial last year and heads to closing arguments in May, and then figuring out what happens after that further, as Evelyn mentioned, further in the future.

Amazon accounts for 74.2% of all US retail media ad spend, according to our November 2023 forecast. Some 69% of US adults pay for an Amazon Prime membership, according to an October 2023 eMarketer survey conducted by Bizrate Insights.

Streaming cancellations rise as costs climb: Major platforms like Netflix and Disney+ are adapting with new strategies.

WBD and Paramount reportedly discuss merger to enhance streaming services and compete with giants like Netflix: It's a move that could reshape the media industry.

Prime Video gets its first major advertising partner: IPG Mediabrands will get first-look access to new ad formats when Prime Video debuts ads in 2024.

At least outside the US, because Hulu doesn't operate outside the US, so if they consolidate the two services or their content offerings and basically roll it out or try to expand Hulu in countries where it doesn't currently operate under a Disney brand, something along those lines.

We break down these issues in our new report 鈥淯厂 CTV Time Spent vs. Ad Spending 2023.鈥�.

Amazon merchants could give it a leg up in the AVOD race: The company has offered to fund ad production for brands that buy at least $15,000 in video commitments.

This increase is proposed for multiple markets, primarily starting with the US and Canada. Zoom out: Netflix isn鈥檛 alone in this approach; over the past year, the cost of major ad-free streaming platforms has surged by approximately 25% in an effort to improve the bottom line. Disney recently raised prices for Disney+ and Hulu.

US time spent with CTV will grow another 13.9% between 2023 and 2025 to 2 hours and 11 minutes per day; during that same period, US time spent with social media will grow just 2.4% to 1 hour and 24 minutes per day. Because of its ability to capture so much attention, US CTV ad spending will grow 21.2% this year and another 16.8% in 2024. By 2025, the US CTV ad market will reach $33.06 billion.

The company claims to support nearly 40 million households and 60 million devices across the US but is still not profitable. iSpot similarly has a major deal in place with NBCUniversal and gained a $325 million investment from Goldman Sachs last year.

YouTube moves away from third-party measurement for co-viewing: The platform鈥檚 decision to use its own data for trading purposes has advertisers worried.

Some expected regulator intervention鈥擜dalytics found that campaign ads from a US senator who had introduced a bill demanding that Google divest parts of its ad business were also subject to invalid placements. Mixed outcome: More than a month out, that intervention hasn鈥檛 materialized, leaving Google to handle the blowback in its own way.

On the other hand, roughly 49%鈥�50% of viewers can put up with a certain level of advertising, per data from more than 3,000 U.S. consumers. 59% of consumers prefer to watch ads to save $4鈥�$5 per month, as opposed to 41% who would rather pay an additional $4鈥�$5 to avoid ads.

Nearly 1 in 5 US consumers has dropped a paid subscription service in favor of a free ad-supported one in the past six months due to economic conditions, according to a November 2022 Deloitte survey.

Thirty-nine percent of US adults who have viewed shoppable ads have engaged with them; of that group, 70% have made a purchase, per a study by Aluma. And interest is growing: Purchase intent for NBCUniversal鈥檚 shoppable TV integrations increased by 168% between 2019 and 2022, per data shared with Retail Touchpoints.

Nearly one-fifth of new US sign-ups were for the ad tier in January 2023, up from about one-tenth of sign-ups in November 2022, per Antenna. Netflix鈥檚 large audience could become an advertising goldmine. With about 191.1 million monthly viewers in North America, by our estimates, Netflix could become a billion-dollar ad business if it can convince more viewers to watch ads.

In fairness, TikTok continues to pledge to improve user data security and plans to introduce a new tool for handling US user data under Project Texas鈥攁lthough no completion date has been set.

Traditional (nondigital) US TV ad spending is expected to be $61.31 billion this year, per our forecast, and should drop to $58.83 billion by 2027. By contrast, US connected TV ad spending will grow from $25.09 billion to $40.90 billion during that '23-'27 forecast period.

YouTube is no longer separate from the streaming wars: Almost half of its viewership is on TVs, and advertisers are spending heavily on the platform.

TV ad measurement hits growing pains: WBD partner picks, YouTube spat signal future of measurement will look fractured for some time.