For a long time, media and entertainment players have had the notion that TV viewers “hate ads.” However, over the past two years, the Hub Entertainment Research’s “TV Advertising: Fact vs. Fiction” study has provided strong evidence that it is finally time to bury that thought.
First of all, nearly all TV viewers watch ad-supported content. In its most recent study, Hub found it was 97% of consumers. Not only that: six in ten consumers told Hub they would even prefer an ad-supported platform if it saved them US$4-5 over an ad-free service. Plus, that goes for a third of the people who said they cannot tolerate TV ads.
According to Hub, what is important for video providers to know, is that consumers want to have the choice of whether or not to accept ads. For the first time this year, more viewers expressed a preference for services offering tiered plans over exclusively ad-supported or ad-free. This appears to be good news for formerly ad-free services like Netflix and Disney+ that have gone to tiered services in the past year.
Sure enough, the providers with the newest ad-supported services get higher marks from subscribers for their ad experience.
According to Hub Entertainment, that is good news for advertisers. Viewers are more engaged with the advertising when they believe the overall ad loads and break lengths are reasonable.
“When consumers are stacking multiple video subscriptions, advertising provides a real benefit. Viewers can choose the price points and levels of ads that appeal to them, while they access their preferred content. However, it is essential that video providers do not take advantage of consumers tolerance for ads. By keeping ad loads and commercial breaks within reasonable levels they can count on wins with both subscribers and advertisers,” said Mark Loughney, Senior Consultant at Hub Entertainment Research.
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