Streaming TV and AVOD audiences continue to grow thanks to more streaming players entering the marketplace, and also because of the wide range of available content.
Roku’s fourth annual VOD Evolution 2024 study found that 75% of Canadian adult internet users are TV streamers accessing at least one streaming service in the last month. That said, 48% of them are “FlexiVODs,” consumers who change TV streaming habits in response to evolving content offerings and programming needs.
Christina Summers, head of ad sales for Roku Canada, says 2024 is the year we’re going to see the rise of VOD or AVOD (ad supported video-on-demand) with the majority of TV streamers (63%) planning to watch AVOD in the year ahead.
“It gives them the same level of choice and quality of content, but without the same price that goes with it when you have to subscribe to services. So, coming out of the evolution study, we found that about half (52%) said that cost was a factor in their decision towards making changes to their subscription services, whether that was looking to cancel, change or downgrade. They really are considering the price point as far as being one of the factors that is going to have on what they were doing.”
FAST channels (free ad-supported TV channels) are also popping up as a growing subset of AVOD channels and services. Roku says in the last year, 14% of streaming TV consumers started using a free AVOD service for the first time while more than 41% watch every month.
Summers says there isn’t any consumer resistance to AVODs because people are used to seeing ads on linear TV. “It’s not only that you’re getting free content in return for the advertising, but you’re also getting less advertising than you would in a traditional linear space. That’s the trade off and it’s not so bad.”
AVOD provides a great opportunity for advertisers to do something unique and relevant, particularly with the ability to run shoppable or interactive ads on streaming channels, says Summers. “[Roku] has run shoppable ads across different verticals and we’re going to be introducing new features and formats for 2024. The feedback from consumers is that they don’t mind ads if they’re relevant and targeted.”
There are many benefits of streaming TV for advertisers including campaign measurement and the ability to personalize messages through finer targeting parameters such as using location data. For services such as Roku, which uses Automatic Content Recognition (ACR), brands can specifically choose to target streaming households that they may have missed with their linear buys.
