Time spent streaming in the fourth quarter jumped 58% from a year ago, according to a new State of Streaming report from Conviva.
The big jump came as new streaming services Apple TV+ and Disney+ came online.
The jump in streaming has advertisers trying to follow viewers, but Conviva said there were quality issues with streaming commercials. The average wait time for an ad to start nearly doubled to 2.27 second from 1.14 seconds. That made viewers more likely to turn an ad off. Conviva found that 49% of viewers stopped watching while waiting for an ad to start.
On the upside for advertisers the number of ads that failed to play dropped to 36.5% in the fourth quarter from 39.6% in the third quarter.
“From recent entrants like Disney+ to soon-to-be-launched services like NBC’s Peacock and HBO Max, we’ve barely begun to scratch the surface of streaming’s impact not only on consumer behavior, but also on the multi-billion dollar advertising and entertainment industries,” said Conviva CEO Bill Demas. “As with any disruptive technology, growing pains are inevitable. The companies that win the streaming wars will be those able to offer viewers a fast, clear, reliable experience regardless of where in the world they live, or what device they use.”
