New FreeWheel Research Finds Ad Loads Declined 40% Since 2016, as Premium Video Providers Prioritize Quality Over Quantity

Titled “The Delicate Art of Balancing Ad Load,” this latest report also marks the global launch of FreeWheel’s Viewer Experience Lab.

Key Takeaways

• Between 2016 and 2022, the number of ads per ad break has dropped by 40%.
• Ad completion rates for long- and mid-form content stand at an unparalleled 94%.
• Long-form premium video on demand accounts for almost 80% of ad views.
• Ad views for live have risen 10% since 2020.

FreeWheel, a global technology platform for the television advertising industry, today announced new findings from its newly published The Delicate Art of Balancing Ad Load report.

Now in its second year, this edition explores premium video ad load for the first half of 2022 in Europe. Key findings include:

Media companies are redefining ad loads:

• Since 2016, the number of ads included within an ad break has decreased, dipping from an average of approximately five to three.
• The ad break duration has also decreased slightly, in particular for mid-form. Meanwhile, this measure typically spanned 52–90 seconds for long-form content; 42–83 seconds for mid-form content; and 18–27 seconds for short-form content.
• Mid-roll breaks on smart televisions have the longest duration – at 126 seconds – and the greatest number of ads with an average of between five to six ads per break.
• Pre-roll breaks on mobile devices run for the shortest duration at 30 seconds and consist of one or two ads per break on average.

Premium long-form VOD accounts for the majority of ad views:

• European audiences view ads on a selection of screens and devices such as set-top-box VOD (30%), mobile (29%), CTV (26%), and desktop (15%).
• Nearly eight in 10 ad views occur on premium VOD, with 68% of VOD ad views taking place within long-form content.
• The report also found a significant uptick in ad views on live TV (20%), up from 10% in 2020.

Premium video environments deliver impact:

• Long- and mid-form content achieved an impressive ad completion rate of 94%, while short-form content achieved a rate of 80%. (For comparison, a 70% completion rate is considered “good” for online video advertising.)
• Additionally, fewer than one-quarter of viewing interruptions happen during the ad, meaning drop-offs mainly take place in the content instead.

The FreeWheel Viewer Experience Lab Goes Global

To enable broadcasters and premium video providers to better understand the effects of ad loads on the viewing experience, FreeWheel unveiled The Viewer Experience Lab in the U.S. in collaboration with MediaScience, a leading provider of lab-based audience research. This industry initiative aims to help the TV advertising industry improve the ad environment for viewers across all video platforms. Addressing and improving current industry and viewer issues with ad load is one component.

Now, with the release of “The Delicate Art of Balancing Ad Load,” FreeWheel is taking The Viewer Experience Lab global, with the goal of improving the viewer experience and addressing the unique needs of advertising quality across platforms in the European market.

“As the television ad landscape continues to evolve and viewership habits shift, we need to prioritize and pay even more attention to protecting and ensuring a quality viewer experience, and ad load is a critical component of that,” said Mark McKee, General Manager, FreeWheel. “As you can see from these report findings, consumers really value and appreciate a quality, premium ad environment, and we need to keep this in mind as we continue to innovate and drive the industry forward.”

Click here to view the full report.

About FreeWheel
FreeWheel, a Comcast Company, is one of the industry’s most complete advertising management solutions. Purpose built for the New TV ecosystem, we enable our collective client base across all key industry segments to manage and monetise their premium video inventory in the brand safe ways they require. Our offerings work in synchronised tandem to meet every aspect of our clients’ business needs across all screens, data sets, and monetisation channels, while providing the full safety, compliance, and control the New TV ecosystem demands. With offices in New York, San Francisco, London, Paris, Beijing, and across the globe, FreeWheel serves the collective interests of those in the premium video industry through the FreeWheel Council for Premium Video. For more information, please visit www.freewheel.com, and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Media Contacts
Ginger May – Linda Cureton
+44 (0)203 642 1124
linda.cureton@teamgingermay.com