• by Tobi Elkin  @tobielkin, April 5, 2016

In its latest forecast on programmatic media, eMarketer projects that programmatic digital display ad spend will reach $22.10 billion in 2016. That amounts to more than two-thirds of all digital display advertising in the U.S. being purchased programmatically, according to the research firm’s forecast issued on Tuesday.

“Programmatic is extremely efficient and unparalleled in its ability to pair rich audience data with ad inventory and targeting,” stated eMarketer senior analyst Lauren Fisher. “Buyers and sellers are also becoming more comfortable with the technology. As a result, it is being rapidly adopted across a variety of channels and ad formats.”

What’s driving the growth? One word: mobile. In fact, eMarketer projects that mobile programmatic spending will reach $15.45 billion in the U.S., representing 69% of all programmatic digital display ad spend in 2016. And in 2017 mobile video programmatic spending will outpace its desktop counterpart for the first time, the research firm estimates..

Digital video is also a key growth driver. More than half of all digital video ad spending in the U.S. will be programmatic, according to the eMarketer forecast. In 2016, programmatic video ad spend will reach $5.51 billion, representing 56% of total digital video ad spending. That figure also represents 24.9% of total programmatic digital display ad spending.

The forecast suggests that 2017 will be the tipping point for programmatic mobile video ads, as mobile surpasses desktop for the first time. By next year, programmatic mobile video ad spending will reach $3.89 billion, representing 51% of total programmatic ad spending in the U.S. By contrast, programmatic desktop-based video ad spending will reach $3.73 billion, dropping to 49% of total programmatic digital display ad spending in the U.S.