CTV viewership rebounds to near pandemic-era levels

This yr, viewers are watching extra CTV in longer periods. Viewership now approaches pandemic-era ranges after pulling again in recent times, in line with a brand new examine, “The CTV Traits Report 2024,” launched by Wurl, an AppLovin firm.

Common day by day hours of CTV viewing are up 5% yr over yr, in line with the examine, which attracts on Wurl’s insights from greater than 4,000 channels and 1 billion month-to-month viewing hours by its CTV advertising platform.

Moreover, common session size is up 7% YoY, indicating that viewers are sticking to a specific program or streaming app for an extended time frame on common.

Pandemic-era rebound. Each common day by day hours and common periods are climbing again towards their pandemic peaks after declining post-pandemic.

Right here’s how common day by day hours elevated in the course of the pandemic, dipped and rebounded. The chart is “normalized,” utilizing the newest full knowledge as the usual in opposition to which earlier intervals are in contrast.

The common day by day hours of viewing peaked in 1Q 2023. After losses later that yr, the typical is climbing again, maybe helped alongside by large occasions in 2024 just like the Paris Olympics and U.S. elections protection.

And right here is the typical session size image.

This metric peaked in 2Q 2022, sooner than the typical day by day hours. As new streaming channels and providers enter the market, there’s extra competitors for a viewer’s consideration. The latest rise in session size exhibits that streaming providers are discovering methods to strengthen viewer loyalty, even on this aggressive setting.

Churn. The churn charge has largely remained secure within the final three years.

Whereas viewing hours elevated later within the pandemic years, churn was a lot larger within the first yr, when many individuals have been cooped up at dwelling and experimenting extra with CTV providers and programming.

Fill charges. Advert fill charges dropped within the first half of 2024 from the earlier yr. They look like rising to 2023 ranges as we strategy the vacations.

Advert-supported subscription presents from premium streamers like Netflix, together with free ad-supported providers (FAST) are growing the quantity of advert stock whereas demand is lagging. Fill charges have been highest in 2022 when there was much less stock.

Dig deeper: Netflix leans into ad-supported tier as subscriber growth surges

Why we care. The growth in CTV ad revenue assumes that elevated viewership makes the funding worthwhile. Viewer conduct issues — these figures present how viewership is shaped over time. CTV habits didn’t take form till a number of years into the pandemic. In 2020, throughout essentially the most stringent lockdowns, CTV viewing hours have been removed from their highs. The newer enhance in common session size, together with decrease churn, make a powerful case for extra enduring habits and CTV loyalty taking root for subsequent yr and past.