IAB Compass Report

IAB’s Compass report points the way for the UK’s CTV future

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As an IAB Member, we were excited to see the release of the Compass report on CTV this week. Sitting alongside reports on Gaming, Shoppable Advertising, and AR/VR, this puts CTV firmly in the ‘buzzy tech’ bracket.

The report gives an insight into how the CTV sector is developing, with a much needed overview of the UK market. Here we give an overview, and explain how Watching That can be instrumental in moving the industry forward, in line with the IAB’s vision.

The headlines

We know CTV is popular, and the Compass report confirms this with some big figures, which we’ll be quoting for some time to come:

  • Around 2/3 of UK households now use CTV devices. 
  • CTV viewing accounts for c.28% of viewing on a TV device among UK adults, and 55% for 16-34s.
  • Current advertising spend on CTV is c.£1.17bn

The Future

“We anticipate CTV spend to roughly double to £2.31bn by 2026 – potentially more” say the IAB.

Double the advertising spend on CTV can only be a good thing for streaming platforms. That’s particularly true for platforms beyond YouTube and existing BVOD services, where most buying is currently taking place in the UK. 

Helping the Development of CTV

Three specific developments were cited in fuelling the growth of CTV advertising.

  1. Netflix and Disney+ [shift of viewers from SVOD to AVOD]
  2. Expanded and improved services
  3. Impact of economic uncertainty

At Watching That we aim to facilitate platforms in each of these areas. 

  1. New entrants to AVOD will appreciate our ability to help them interpret their revenue data.
  2. Ads that don’t render can cause all kinds of issues for viewers. Insights gained from our platform will help streamers identify problems, and improve the experience – particularly around ad breaks – for their users.
  3. At the heart of what we do is empowering streamers to make efficiencies, and protect them from the economic headwinds we’re all facing. Finding the source of missed revenue can help save millions of lost pounds.

IAB Members can download the full report on the IAB website.

If you’d like to know more about how Watching That can help you with a new advertising channel, improve your UX, or find efficiencies, then get in touch.