FreeWheel: FAST channels redefining premium video distribution

Tuesday, March 28th, 2023 
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FreeWheel Video Marketplace Report, H2 2022 – FAST channels redefine premium video distribution

  • Ad views continue their double-digit upward trend in Europe (+13%), while the US is seeing a slower growth (7%).
  • Access to premium content in Europe largely occurs through some kind of authentication.
  • 72% of targeted campaigns in Europe are demo-based; in the US 72% of campaigns are behavioural-based.
  • Where automated transactions are involved, Programmatic Guaranteed is the preferred option.

LONDON — As the premium video ecosystem continues to evolve and transform, ad views continue to grow. In the second half of 2022, ad views saw 13% growth year-on-year (YOY) in Europe as viewers embraced a multitude of devices to access the great variety of content available. The ‘big screen’ remains central to these consumption habits, with 56% of viewing in Europe taking place via connected TV (CTV) and set-top box VOD. However, whereas in the US, 62% of content is now accessed through OTT devices – outside ‘pay walls’ – in Europe the large majority of content (80%) requires viewers to access through some kind of authentication.

CTV represents an area of importance for advertisers, as it allows them to reach an engaged audience in a premium, ‘lean back’ environment with relevant messaging. While CTV is becoming more prominent in Europe, data protection regulations are having an impact on advertiser targeting. In Europe most campaigns (72%) are demo-based; while the same percentage (72%) of campaigns in the US use behavioural-based targeting.

Noticeably, there has been a strong rise in programmatic deals in the US (+12% YOY), now accounting for 32% of all transactions – driven by the adoption of CTV and the outstanding growth of FAST channels. In Europe the share of programmatic is still small; equivalent to 14% of all transactions. Most of these transactions are made through programmatic guaranteed deals. These may continue to grow as deals get more curated and privacy measures tighten.

The FreeWheel Video Marketplace Report (VMR) highlights the changing dynamics of how enterprise-class content owners and distributors are monetising premium digital video content. The data set used for this report is one of the largest available on the usage and monetisation of professional, rights-managed ad supported video content worldwide and is based on aggregated advertising data collected through the FreeWheel platform. In this edition of the VMR, we explore video advertising trends for the second half of 2022 (2H 2022) in the US and Europe*.

* European countries included: Belgium, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Spain, and the United Kingdom

Links: FreeWheel