FreeWheel: More made-for-tv ads going online

While more original programming is hitting the online video space, for ads, more brands are using existing content to get their message across. According to new data out from FreeWheel, the 'standard' :30 TV commercial became the most used video ad format (online) in 2012.

by Kristina Knight

According to the FreeWheel Video Monetization Report:

• Video views increased 23% (2011 to 2012)
• Video ad volume spiked 47% (2011 to 2012)
• Long form content has a 93% completion rate (20+ minutes)
• Mid-form content holds an 81% completion rate (5-20 minutes)
• Mobile/gaming devices make up 12% of total video views

The report also found that, in long form content, there are now an average of 9.4 video ads, an increase of 36% YoY. Interestingly enough, completion rates also continue to be high - even with the addition of more ads per view.

"Overall, the very high completion rates indicate that there is still some room for higher ad loads in rights-managed content, no matter what the length," was written in the report. "In keeping with the increased ad loads, ad length is following that which is most common on broadcast: the :30 video ad rose in dominance over the :15 ad, which was once considered more suitable for digital video."

Meanwhile, non-PC based viewing is also on the rise.

"Video viewing on devices beyond the PC and Mac has seen significant increases in the past year," was written in the report. "In Q4 2011, viewing on devices like smartphones, tablets and game consoles was only 2% of total video viewing volume, and by Q4 of 2012, this number rose to 12%."

Mobile devices accounted for nearly 2 billion video views in 2012.

Tags: FreeWheel, online video trends, tv advertising, video advertising, video monetization