Extreme Reach releases Q1 2021 Video Benchmarks Report

CTV Share of Impressions Grows and 30-second Ads Reach Unprecedented High in Extreme Reach Q1 2021 Video Benchmarks Report

NEW YORK, NY — Extreme Reach (ER), the complete asset management solution for TV and video advertising, today released the findings of its Video Benchmarks Report with data from Q1 2021. The report includes ad performance data for impressions served from its AdBridge™ platform to CTV, desktop, and mobile devices.

Key findings include:

• The share of impressions served to CTV in Q1 rose to 41% from 35% in Q4 2020, an increase of 17% and the highest share seen by Extreme Reach since 2019.
• Q1 2021 furthered the divide between the use of 30-second and 15-second ads. This quarter marked the largest split between the two dominant ad lengths: 88% for 30-second ads and 12% for 15-second spots.
• After falling behind media aggregators in Q4 2020, premium publishers moved back into the lead, accounting for 54% of impressions, while media aggregators served 46% of impressions in Q1 2021. This was the highest percentage for premium publishers since Q2 2020, when they accounted for 65% share of impressions served by ER.

New to this report is a look at how aggregator and premium publisher impressions in Q1 break out by platform. CTV far and away takes the lead among premium publishers at 69%, followed by mobile in-app at 12%, desktop at 10%, mobile web at 7% and unclassified at 2%. Among aggregators, CTV accounts for just 8% of impressions, mobile in-app is 33%, desktop leads with 36% and mobile web ranks third with 23% of impressions.

“The video ad landscape has been through an extended period of disruption over the last year, as well as significant growth,” said Mary Vestewig, VP, Digital Account Management at Extreme Reach. “Q1 saw advertisers leaning into the familiar, including the ever-popular 30-second ad length and a preference for premium publishers. As vaccination rates increase and life resumes a greater sense of normalcy, we’re watching Q2 trends with great interest.”

Extreme Reach’s 2021 Q1 Video Benchmarks Report is based on the aggregate performance metrics for impressions served from AdBridge™, the company’s video-first asset management platform for marketing creative. The data tracks campaigns for a diverse set of brands across multiple categories.