How evolving viewership trends impact your CTV media strategy

Connected TV (CTV) is taking the programmatic industry by storm. “The CTV gold rush” is our new blog series which looks at some of the most prevalent challenges within CTV, and how to overcome them. With some great research-based insights and plenty of tips, you’ll come away armed with more knowledge and better CTV strategies.

It’s safe to say that Connected TV (CTV) content availability has exploded over the last five years, and it’s not slowing down. eMarketer predicts that CTV will account for one fifth of total programmatic video ad spending in 2023. And by 2024, CTV ad spending is predicted to hit almost 30 billion dollars in the US, making up almost 8% of total media spend.

This ever-evolving industry is driven by the changing way consumers watch content. To keep up with valuable eyeballs, advertisers need to keep up with trends.

So, what’s happening right now in the world of CTV?

Get the insights you need to rethink your CTV strategy in MiQ’s new Marketer’s Guide to CTV. Download your copy today.

Consumers are rethinking their CTV subscriptions

New apps are entering the market all the time, but an increasing number are free.
eMarketer has found that when it comes to subscription apps, there’s a high level of saturation. (Over 70% of households now have a Prime subscription.) So free apps like Tubi, Pluto and Crackle are seeing their audience numbers sky-rocket, with some achieving over 50 million users. According to eMarkerter’s research, nearly 30% of all US consumers now use free ad-supported TV apps.

This is all leading to changing consumer attitudes. Thanks to high inflation rates, market saturation and endless choices for TV apps, viewers are putting their subscriptions under a microscope. Last year, PCH Consumer Insights showed that 93% of subscribers are evaluating what subscriptions they keep.

Our own research with Sapio shows that 10% of consumers consider themselves ‘Subscription Hoppers’, regularly changing which apps they subscribe to in order to get the latest content. And it could get worse. The Hollywood strikes might lead to less premium content, so consumers might wonder why they should pay when the content isn’t any better than free apps. Because of this, committing to an individual platform is no longer a sensible approach. When your audience moves on, those platforms could leave you high and dry.

To engage audiences, marketers need a multi-platform approach

As a result, a brand’s target audience is no longer easily targeted using one app.
They are actually now more often found on free ad-supported apps as well as the TV network apps marketers have traditionally focused on. Our own research shows that Hulu has up to a 68% audience overlap with free ad-supported apps (including YouTube, Tubi, Pluto and Peacock.)

So in the face of the changing CTV landscape and consumer, marketers also need to change their attitudes and approaches. And to stay ahead of the game, it’s important to work with partners who provide access to multiple platforms across the open and closed web, via multiple DSPs. This will give you the flexibility to reach your audience, no matter how their attitudes change.

To dive into more detail, check out our other blogs in this series. In ‘Content transparency and fraud: Do you know where your CTV ads are really running?’, you’ll find out about murky processes and how to gain transparency. And in ‘How to find your most valuable audience on CTV’, you’ll learn about the challenges facing marketers, and how to maximize success.

For more information on CTV, check out our recent US webinar: ‘The CTV Gold Rush’. Featuring experts from across the advertising industry, you’ll learn more about the CTV consumer, media inventory, transparency and performance.