• Linear advertising challenges outlined in Ebiquity report
  • Commercial TV impacts fell 4.4% in 2019
  • Half of 18-24yo viewers to switch off linear by 2025

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Ad impact: Commercial TV impacts fell 4.4% in 2019

Total linear commercial TV impacts fell by 4.4% last year but could be down by as much as 21% by 2025.

Falling linear TV audiences will see the impact of linear advertising, with more than half of today’s audience aged between 18-24 likely to have switched off linear by 2025, a study from Ebiquity claims.

Mind the Gap: A closer look at video advertising in the age of increasing media fragmentation report uses measurement data from the likes of Barb’s Audience Project, alongside insights from major advertising campaigns in the UK, to calculate the state of the ad market.

For the those in the 16-24, 25-34, and 35-44 age groups, advertising served on YouTube and Facebook was found broadly to be able to match the reach delivered by TV, the report found. YouTube still offers the biggest opportunities to brands targeting younger consumers.

Older viewers, defined as those aged 65 and over, grew in impact by 1.6%, while the 55-64s market saw linear audiences grow by 2.3%. This, according to Ebiquity, can be chalked up to population growth in this demographic along with flat per capital commercial impacts.

“Although TV remains the primary driver of ROI, the change in media consumption habits is no secret and is a phenomenon that brands cannot safely ignore,” said Christian Polman, chief strategy officer at Ebiquity.

“What our new study does is to confirm that the rate of change in viewing behaviour is affecting brands. The ability to reach mass audiences at scale is critical for efficient and effective brand building. Advertisers need to take several actions today in order to close their own coverage gap and ensure success in the age of media fragmentation.”

Focusing on online content first may not be enough for brands, however, because both Facebook and YouTube deliver less incremental reach when analysis shifts from pure impressions to 50% or 100% completed reach.

Ebiquity warned that, by 2025, its predictions may no longer be relevant because viewers, advertisers and agencies will stop distinguishing between linear TV and streaming TV in the way we do now. Evidence of this includes the increasing VOD market. Subscription VOD services do pose a threat to advertising models, however.

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