The Advantages of Advertising On Streaming TV
Is Advertising on Streaming TV Services Right For Your Business? Here’s What You Need to Know.
There are more reasons than ever to consider advertising on streaming TV instead of cable. Let’s look at some of the latest streaming TV trends and statistics.
Rise of the Cord Cutters
The first reason is the relative size of the audience. Cable providers have been bleeding customers for years, as more and more people “cut the cord.” According to Comscore, 21% of US households have cut the cord and gotten rid of their cable subscriptions in the last five years alone.
This is especially true among young people—74% of 18 to 34-year-olds in the US have either never had cable, have already cut the cord, or plan to cut the cord in the future.
Surge in Pandemic Streaming
Of course, all those cord cutters aren’t giving up watching TV. Most of them are switching to streaming TV services.
According to the 2021 Brightback Report, 36% of consumers said the COVID-19 pandemic drove their purchase decision for streaming services. As a result, the streaming audience exploded in 2021, increasing 22% in a single year.
Currently, according to Comscore, streaming TV services in the US reach 84.2 million households.
In other words, the cable TV audience is shrinking, while the streaming audience is expanding. According to Statistica, the worldwide streaming audience will reach 3.76 trillion (48% of the world’s population) by 2025.
Popular Streaming Services
So what are the most popular streaming services? According to Nielsen data, Netflix is by far the industry leader, with 34% of total market share.
YouTube is number two, with 20%, followed by Hulu (11%), Amazon Prime (8%) and Disney+ (4%).
While there are several other providers, including Apple TV and HBO Max, 82.5% of all streaming content comes from Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, Amazon Prime and Disney+.
Advantages for Advertisers
Of course, the audience size isn’t the only reason to consider advertising on streaming TV. The main advantage for advertisers is precision targeting.
Have you ever wondered why each person in a household has their own Netflix avatar? When you log in, Netflix wants to know which person is watching, so they can serve up specific ad messages.
You and your loved one can be watching the same show, in two different rooms (or on two mobile devices) and you’ll see different commercials during the ad breaks.
Ad Cost Efficiency
Precision targeting also affects media costs, in a good way.
Cable is a broadcast medium, so the same ads are seen by every viewer—and you end up paying for those extra eyeballs. With streaming TV, ads are served up based on demographics and interests.
So streaming TV is a more efficient media buy—less cost, and usually with higher engagement and better results.
OTT Streaming Devices
You might be wondering how streaming works. How do people watch TV without a cable or satellite subscription?
There’s more than one answer. According to eMarketer, the most popular streaming device is Roku, with a 37% market share. It’s a small box that connects your TV to your home Wi-Fi network.
Similar devices include Amazon Fire (22%) and Apple TV (6%). Or you can use a smart TV such as Samsung (10%).
Advertising On Streaming TV
So bottom line, whether or not streaming TV is right for you depends on your audience and how narrowly you can target your message. There’s also some audience demographic data you might want to consider.
According to Comscore:
• Almost half of streaming TV households have an income over $75,000
• 34% have a household income over $100,000
• 42% of streaming TV households have children in the home
• 65% of streaming content is viewed on mobile and TV apps, not on browsers
• The top three categories for streaming content are breaking news (26%), comedy (25%) and how-to videos (21%)
About the Author:
Harry Hayes is the owner and executive producer at Content Puppy Productions, a corporate video production agency based in Charlotte. Before starting Content Puppy, he spent 20+ years as an advertising writer and creative director.
