Ad spending by streaming services dropped to $127.1 million in April, the lowest level so far this year and down 25% from the previous month according to figures from MediaRadar.
Spending is down 32% from January, when spending peaked so far this year. MediaRadar tracks spending on TV, digital and print. But it was up 29% from April 2020.
“The biggest contributing factor to the drop in ad spend this April was the loss and reduction of ‘For Your Consideration’ campaigns from Netflix, Apple TV Plus, Hulu, Disney Plus and HBO Max,” said Todd Krizelman, CEO and co-founder of MediaRadar. “In fact, this spend accounted for 16% of the total in March of 2021, coming in at $27.6 million.”
During April, Discovery Plus was the biggest spender, but its outlay were down 16% for the month. It still outspent its closest rival by 181%.
During an investor conference, Discovery CEO David Zaslav said that after advertising nearly everywhere to launch Discovery Plus, the company had a better idea of what worked and was allocating its ad dollars more efficiently.
For April, spending by Disney’s Disney Plus and Hulu were both up, with Disney Plus increasing by 59% and Hulu 65% more.
HBO Max spending was down 16% and Paramount Plus dropped 63%.
MediaRadar noted that Paramount Plus launched in March, so its April total might be a better reflection of what a normal month will look like going forward.
