Google: Video ad viewability rate 62% in U.S.

The state of video ad viewability has improved since last year, according to Google's latest Global State of Play report, but large discrepancies remain across countries, exchanges and screen.

by Helen Leggatt

Google's report found that, overall, two-thirds (66%) of video ads are viewable across the Internet and apps, across desktop, mobile and tablets (excluding YouTube) in 2016. That's up from 54% in 2015.

On YouTube, ad viewability is an impressive 93% across desktop, mobile and tablets, up from 91% last year. In fact, YouTube is now the global leader among major video platforms for viewability.

Google's data also reveals significant differences between regions. While in the U.S. viewability rates this year have reached 93%, they are as low as 62% in Australia.

In Europe, the UK has seen a rise in video ad viewability rates (up to 69% this year from 2015's 58%, as has Italy (from 56% to 58%). However, drops in viewability have been experienced in Germany, France, Spain, and the Netherlands.

With regards to exchanges, Google's report states that "average domain viewability and median domain viewability rates vary dramatically across the top seven exchanges where DBM [DoubleClick Bid Manager] buys video ads. Only one exchange has a median rate over 70%, and four exchanges are under 40%".

Therefore, to drive impact, advertisers should choose exchanges with high viewability and access to large player sizes.