OTT devices, a category that includes Roku boxes, the Apple TV and gaming consoles, represented the fastest growing segment when it came to ad-supported viewing of online video, FreeWheel found its Video Monetization Report for the second quarter of 2015.
Ad viewing on OTT devices rose 194%, good for a 10% share in Q2 2015, versus the year-ago quarter. That outpaced growth in other device segments, including smartphones (+107%), tablets and desktops/laptops (see chart). Thirty-eight percent of ad views came from outside desktops and laptops. Q2 2015 marked the first time that smartphones surpassed 20% share of total video ad views, said FreeWheel, the online advertising firm acquired by Comcast last year.
Though Roku is leading U.S. streaming device sales, according to Park Associates, it’s not out in front with respect to OTT video ad viewing. In Q2, Apple TV was on top, with a 39% share, up from 28% a year earlier.
The study also found that video ad views grew 32% year-over-year, with long-form on-demand and live content (20 minutes-plus) stoking that growth, rising 26% and 146%, respectively.
On the authenticated TV Everywhere front, MVPD app viewership surged 200% year-over-year, but accounted for just 4.5% of all programmer ad views, FreeWheel said. Overall authenticated viewing, meanwhile, rose 151%.
On an aggregate basis, overall online video views rose 25%, and ad views jumped 32%, the report found.
Much more about FreeWheel’s report will be featured in the Next TV section appearing in the August 31 issues of Multichannel News and Broadcasting & Cable.
