FreeWheel releases H1 2024 Video Marketplace Report

FreeWheel Video Marketplace Report, H1 2024 – Ad views continue to grow as streaming expands

The FreeWheel Video Marketplace Report (VMR) – based on aggregated data from FreeWheel, a leading advertising technology platform in Europe – highlights the changing dynamics of how enterprise-class content owners and distributors are monetising premium digital video content. With FreeWheel’s extensive coverage and capabilities in Europe and the U.S., the data set included in this report is one of the largest available on the usage and monetization of professional, rights-managed, ad-supported video content across the two regions.

This edition of the VMR explores ad viewership trends across devices, transaction types, and content types for the first half of 2024 (H1 2024) in selected European countries* and the U.S.

Ad viewership continues to grow in the U.S. and Europe with total ad views up +11% year-over-year (YOY), +8% and +29% respectively. The findings mark almost a decade of double-digit growth in ad views in Europe, coinciding with viewers embracing the expanding and flexible offerings of digital and streaming platforms, including live video content.

Connected TV (CTV) has seen a +31% increase in ad views in Europe compared to the same period in 2023, and it is now the primary device (46%) through which viewers watch ad-supported content in the region. CTV continues its dominance in the U.S., capturing 83% of ad views in H1 2024. The analysis highlights the prominence of the large screen in ad-supported premium video environments.

Audience targeting has increased by double digits in the U.S. (+39%) and Europe (+23%) compared to the first half of last year, as media companies increasingly leverage first-party data and advanced targeting capabilities to reach intended viewers. This trend is expected to continue in light of the growing complexity in the privacy landscape.

Both regions recorded overall growth in programmatic ad views, +15% in the U.S. and an outstanding +41% in Europe. Regional differences were more apparent at device level with CTV accounting for 87% of programmatic ad views in the U.S. versus 28% in Europe. There’s scope for growth for this type of transaction in Europe, particularly as CTV continues to grow.

Live content represents an opportunity for advertisers and publishers to connect with large simultaneous audiences in both regions. Live ad-supported content captured 54% of ad views in the US in H1 2024; figures are lower in Europe (22%) but have grown from 18% for the same period last year. With the recent streaming successes from large sports events, live in Europe is likely to show an upward trend moving forward.

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