We’ve seen quite a rise in original digital programming over the past couple of years — to the point where it’s ready to overtake regular television any day now. But a new report shows that its popularity translates to ever-higher spending. The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB for short) has reported (via The Drum) that ad spending on original digital video programming has more than doubled since 2014, with both advertisers and media buyers increasing investment by 114 percent in the past year or so.
The report, titled Digital Content NewFronts: Video Ad Spend Study, also pointed out that 68 percent of those polled feel that original digital video will be just as vital as original TV programming in the next three-to-five years. Considering digital video’s increasing reach over the past few years, that shouldn’t be too big of a surprise.
Out of those buyers that were polled, 63 percent intend to spend more on the digital video front, compared to 62 percent just spending on video. It also pointed out that they feel that digital video content has become a more important factor in the industry, with 44 percent of their budgets accounting for digital video, up from 38 percent two years ago.
Anna Bager, senior vice president of IAB, noted, “Marketers and agencies are telling us they clearly see great value in original digital video programming.
“This study demonstrates that the NewFronts has the ability to move ad dollars. Considering this year’s presenter line-up of top-tier, innovative media companies, and content creators, we expect that the event will inspire spending during the marketplace’s two-week period and beyond.”
The news comes just in time for the kick-off of this year’s NewFronts event, which takes place in New York from today through May 13. We’ll see what new trends get introduced on the video front in the days ahead.
