Connected TV is expected to increase its share of ad dollars in 2021 after a banner year in 2020, according to a new report from the IAB.
The study, released during the IAB’s NewFronts, found that 35% of the agency and brand executives surveyed said that they planned to increase the portion of their budget allocated to connected TV. Only 6% said they would be reducing their CTV allocation.
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“The benefits of digital video for brands--including targetability, addressability, incremental; reaction, and the opportunity to leverage first-party data--have had 2021 a sellers’ market. In fact, advertisers report that they expect CTV prices to go up in parallel to prices in linear TV."
The survey found that 21% of those surveyed plan to increase their spending on broadcast and cable TV, while 20% said they plan to cut it.
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More directly, 73% of those surveyed said that the funds for increased spending on CTV were coming from linear TV.
Overall, digital video’s share of total video budgets was 56%, and CTV had a 35% share of digital video, topping mobile at 33% and desktop at 32%.
“This is a bellwether moment in media that reflects the continued acceleration and shift to digital,” said Eric John, VP of IAB Media Center. “While we are seeing growth across all digital video, the movement to more audience-based buying approaches has resulted in increased buyer demand for CTV.”
The survey found some reservations about CTV. It is seen as “new,” CPMs are high relative to other video opportunities and buyers used to the way TV is delivered and measures have slowed the adoption of CV.
Household addressable advertising will get bigger spending from 15% of advertisers, with 9% reducing addressable spending.
Spending on CTV rose 22% in 2020, the IAB said, with advertisers spending an average of $20 million on CTV.
The IAB study was conducted by Advertiser Perceptions between March 19 and April 5. Advertiser Perceptions interviewed 350 video advertising decision makers, who work with agencies or brands and are responsible for budgets of at least $1 million.
