83% of advertisers plan increase in digital video ad spend

New global research from AOL reveals digital video will see the largest increase in ad spend this year at the expense of television budgets.

by Helen Leggatt

According to AOL's research, 83% of advertisers plan to increase video ad spend this year, more than any other media. Of those advertisers shifting spend away from television, nearly three-quarters (72%) are moving it to digital video and 71% to mobile video.

The move is driven, in part, by advertisers' optimism in digital and mobile video's revenue-generating potential. Two-thirds (62%) expect branded video content to drive the greatest revenue this year, followed by new formats such as VR and 360 (52%) and 1-5 minute videos (46%).

Advertisers are going where consumers are increasingly viewing video - online and on mobile. Nearly all (92%) watch videos online every day and 88% watch more video now than they did a year ago. AOL's report found that 68% prefer to watch videos online, or through connected television and cite flexibility as the reason. Over half (53%) prefer online video as it can be viewed on any device and 50% say they prefer it as they are saving money using such devices.