The online video industry -- which has long been held back by supply-side scarcity and measurement problems -- is finally maturing, it seems.
A recent report from FreeWheel highlighted that mid-roll video ads are on the rise, having grown 115 percent year-over-year in Q1 versus pre-roll video ads, which grew 45 percent year-over-year. ReelSEO’s Christopher Rick says the shift indicates that the online video industry is maturing, because more mid-rolls means more viewers are watching long-form content online.
The FreeWheel report also shows that mid-roll completion rates held stable at 85 percent, meaning that consumers didn’t find the ad loads to be too much to keep them from consuming ad-supported video content. Moreover, mid-rolls currently only represent about 23 percent of all video ad views, so they may have a long way to grow.
As a consumer, Rick says he is much more inclined to continue watching a video that serves a mid-roll rather than a pre-roll ad, because with a pre-roll, “if it’s on something I haven’t seen before I feel like I’m being forced into it… giving me a mid-roll instead of a pre-roll makes me less likely skip out of the video.”
However, he adds that with mid-rolls, it’s important to get the ad load right. “Hulu is certainly pushing the limits of acceptability with their ad loads,” he says.
Thanks for the write up but you got my first name wrong...it's OK, everyone generally does. :)