Netflix, Apple TV and Prime Video.
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With more people in their lounges streaming programs and movies during the Covid pandemic, the connected TV space has experienced astronomical growth. And Google wants to build the growth with YouTube.
YouTube chief product officer Neal Mohan will keep advertisers informed of what the platform has seen over the past year during a session at the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s annual leadership meeting on Wednesday morning. The company planned to share new figures on the growth seen with viewers watching its platforms on linked TVs (CTVs), such as providers’ ability to measure with Nielsen ahead of next season and trends appearing on the platform during the unusual seen last year. .
The pandemic was a boon for the streaming industry, benefiting players like Roku and ad tech player The Trade Desk. In 2020, eMarketer will spend $ 8.11 billion on CTV advertising and reach $ 18.3 billion by 2024. But even though viewing has skyrocketed, eMarketer says that most of the people’s streaming time happens ad-free on platforms like Netflix, Disney + and Amazon Prime Video. This gives YouTube the opportunity to tell advertisers that they have the space to reach streaming TV viewers through its platform.
YouTube says viewers of its own platform are increasingly watching television. It is said that in December 2020, 120 million people watched YouTube or YouTube TV on their TV screens while spending time at home. Mohan told CNBC it was higher than $ 100 million in March last year.
As the viewer changes, so do advertising dollars. Mohan said over the past year there have been ‘light bulb’ moments for advertisers and media buyers about how media usage has changed because ‘they are experiencing it in their own lives’.
YouTube has said that mobile phones still make up the largest percentage of how the content is consumed on the platform. But in December, more than a quarter of registered YouTube viewers watched almost exclusively on a TV screen. The company did not want to outline how the rest of the viewing was grouped.
To address the increased move to TVs, YouTube said for the first time in the preceding seasons 2021 and 2022, advertisers will be able to use Nielsen to measure YouTube’s streaming TV inventory. The forefront is when advertisers typically spend a large portion of their annual TV spending on transactions.
This should help media buyers and sellers verify audiences on YouTube and YouTube TV shows on linked TVs. Offers like these are meant to show advertisers that they can reach the audience they are not reaching elsewhere, and to more easily compare the reach with addressable linear TV. Previously, the company said that advertisers could only use Nielsen ratings to measure the platform’s inventory on computers and mobile devices.
“It’s something brands have been asking for,” Mohan said.
YouTube also worked on expanding advertising tools and offerings, which grew the company 46% year-over-year in the fourth quarter to $ 6.89 billion. The company has built products on direct response to YouTube, such as ‘buyable’ ads that include product images. Direct response was a strong area that remained strong during the pandemic, but brand advertising also came back a lot in the fourth quarter, which also helped YouTube.
E-commerce soared in 2020; Americans spent $ 791.7 billion on e-commerce throughout the year, 32.4% higher than in 2019, according to data published by the U.S. Census Bureau last month. Mohan said video plays an important role in this space, with creators reviewing products or making recommendations as creators and their audiences have a more authentic connection.
Mohan also plans to talk about the trend of short-form video. YouTube’s TikTok rival “Shorts” will be in beta expansion to the US in the next few weeks, the company said. Shorts does not show ads in its beta, but YouTube said it is “exploring monetization options”.