Conviva, which specialize in global streaming media intelligence, has released its quarterly State of Streaming report for quarter four (QA) of 2019, revealing streaming viewing continues to climb – up 58% year over year – as consumers are motivated by new streaming services like Disney+ and Apple TV+ and the convenience of on demand versus live streaming (66% of global streaming viewing is now on demand).
Conviva analyzed more than 11 billion ad attempts in Q4 2019 and found that while streaming ads are slowly improving in quality, the length of time a viewer must wait for the ad to start nearly doubled, going from 1.14 to 2.27 seconds over the span of a single quarter. As a result, viewers are more likely than ever to exit an ad, with exits before an ad starts surging 49%. Conviva found ad buffering also remains an issue with a 48% increase quarter over quarter.
In slightly more positive findings, 36.5% of streaming ad attempts failed to play as intended in Q4 2019, down from 39.6% last quarter. Ad start failures also improved, going from 35.7% in Q3 to 30.8% in Q4. Advertisers are also shortening their ads, with average time down from 38 seconds in Q3 to 26.6 seconds in Q4.
“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 Bill Demas, CEO, Conviva. “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.”
