• by Wayne Friedman , October 4, 2016

Mid-roll advertisements and total impressions are rising, but pre-roll ads are still dominant.

A study by Ooyala says mid-roll video ads rose to a 24% share from in April 2016 from a 19% share in February 2015. Pre-roll digital video ads still dominate -- but have dropped in share of total digital video ads -- to 60% from 75% in February 2015.

Post-roll digital ads continue to have the smallest share -- although they have increased to 7% of all ads from a 3.5% share.

Research says total mid-roll year-over-year 2016 impressions showed even better results -- growing by 110%, with pre-roll up 14% and post-roll 74% higher.

Looking at digital video advertising that was completed, mid-roll ads were viewed 90% all the way through, while pre-roll ads, tallied a 78% number and post-roll, 65%.

Analysis suggest that mid-roll may be more important to retaining digital video viewers. “Mid-roll ads look and feel a whole lot like TV,” says Ooyala. 

It also cites a 2013 study from Akamai and the University of Massachusetts showing that pre-roll abandonment is five times more likely than mid-roll abandonment. 

The study looked at the total number of ads, broken down by each ad placement, across nearly 50 global “premium” publishers and broadcasters between February 2015 and April 2016.