Top 5 Media Landscape Insights- February

Stay on top of today’s constantly changing media environment with DirectAvenue’s Top 5 Insights. We give you specific network updates and emerging media trends in a digestible format.

February 1, 2024

1. Streaming views continue to adopt ad tiers- Subscription prices for streaming services are being increased with the aim of encouraging viewers to opt for advertising plans. As these services work towards achieving profitability amidst escalating content costs, they are giving precedence to ad-supported tiers. These tiers typically yield higher revenues per user compared to ad-free options. Hulu boasts the highest number of ad-supported viewers among US streaming services. Despite Peacock and Paramount+ having a higher percentage of viewers on ad plans, Hulu leads in ad-supported viewership due to its significantly larger overall audience compared to most streaming platforms.
2. Disney launches ‘Shoppable’ Streaming Ads- In preparation for this year and the upcoming upfront spring and summer selling season, Disney Advertising is strengthening its ad-tech and data business. The company is incorporating additional data-measurement providers, extending its “clean room” initiatives to involve other providers, and has introduced its inaugural streaming “shoppable” ad format. Disney has widened the scope of its “clean room” technology endeavors, enabling the matching of first-party data from marketers with Disney’s priority data, to include other cloud services such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google.
3. Combined CTV and linear TV will spend near $100B in ’27- According to eMarketer’s October 2023 projection, the combined advertising expenditure on US television and connected TV (CTV) is anticipated to experience annual growth until the conclusion of their forecast in 2027, reaching an approximate total of $100 billion. The expansion will be solely attributed to CTV, with expenditures expected to rise by $5.50 billion year-over-year in 2024.
4. U.S. ad spend estimates reach $570B in 2024- The Winterberry Group has projected a 10.4% growth in U.S. advertising spending, reaching $570 billion. By 2024, over 60% of total expenditure is anticipated to be allocated to digital advertising. Projections indicate a 12.4% increase in search, reaching $120.9 billion. Other channels expected to experience substantial growth include social media, rising by 12.7% to $77.9 billion, CTV (Connected TV) increasing by 30.4% to $33.1 billion, video climbing by 16.6% to $30.5 billion, and influencer marketing seeing a growth of 14.3% to $7.2 billion.
5. Analyst boosts Netflix ’24 ad forecast to $2.1B- Due to a more robust than anticipated growth in ad-supported subscribers, New Street Research’s equity research team has adjusted their 2024 ad revenue estimate for Netflix, increasing it by $700 million to $2.1 billion. The majority of this advertising expenditure, totaling $1.231 billion, is expected to originate from the U.S. and Canada. The updated prediction anticipates that Netflix will gain 13 million net new ad-supported subscribers in 2024, followed by an addition of 8 million in 2025.