As networks work to finish their upfront deals, new data highlights the ongoing importance of online video for advertisers, with MediaRadar reporting that the category grew by 86% in 2022 to $28.2 billion and that digital advertising easily surpassed spending on TV.
To understand the state of TV and video advertising entering the Upfront and NewFront season, MediaRadar analyzed a data sample of the ad spend from national broadcasts and cable TV ads in 2022 and found that digital advertising accounted for $68 billion or 47% of the total $144 billion ad spend on digital, print and TV. That easily outpaced TV, which comprised 41% the total spending in 2022.
Top categories investing in TV ads mirrored those in digital, with the top-5 largely consisting of finance, media & entertainment, retail, and tech sectors. However, except for media and entertainment, TV investment in these sectors witnessed a YoY decrease.
The study also found:
- Online video advertising is up and increasingly more important to advertisers as it rose 86% YoY. MediaRadar observed 31.1k advertisers spend an estimated $28.2 billion in video advertising during 2022. Top three categories advertised via online video during 2022: software ($1.9 billion), pharma ($1.4 billion), and film promotion ($1.4 billion). Combined spend nearly reached $4.8 billion, this is only 17% of total online video spend.
- OTT investments increased despite the challenges of matching 2021 growth. Around 5.7k brands increased their investment in streaming platforms YoY during 2022. Together their buys were nearly $1.3 billion. Most notably LinkedIn, eHarmony, Kohl’s, and Febreeze contributed to this YoY increase.
- Short spots increase market share. TV ads 15 seconds or less accounted for $5.2 billion (35% of $14.8 billion) in Q1 2023. That’s a 6% YoY increase from Q1 2022. Ads 16 to 30 seconds decreased 10% YoY to $7b. In Q1 2023, 17% of TV ad spend was dedicated to ads longer than 46 seconds.
- Q1 2023 ad investment dedicated to TV ads less than 15-seconds up 6% while traditional 30-second ads are down YoY.
- Only 1% of advertisers entering the market bought national TV spots. Despite looming recession concerns, MediaRadar observed 52k new advertisers (nearly 80k brands) entered the market in the second half of 2022. Not all of these advertisers purchased TV spots (530), but over 36k invested in digital display, video advertising and other digital formats.
