Survey: Media Buyers Are Bullish About Linear TV Advertising

NEW YORK: A new survey of media and advertising executives points to TV’s continued relevance despite shifts in video consumption, and an optimistic year-on-year outlook for the growth of the medium.

The study—conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Videology, a software provider for converged TV and video advertising—was designed to evaluate current buyer and seller attitudes and behaviors toward video and TV advertising. Survey participants included 100 decision-makers from U.S. advertisers, agencies and media companies, including both traditional and online-only video content producers.

Of surveyed participants, 73 percent predict that over the next three years there will be an increase in the consumption of full-length shows online; 77 percent predict an increase in smartphone video viewing; and 79 percent predict more time will be spent watching smart TVs with a direct internet connection.

Even with these shifts in video consumption, the survey revealed TV’s continued relevance. Of those surveyed, 49 percent believe that time spent watching traditional TV will increase over the next three years, up from just 22 percent who believed it would increase when surveyed in 2013.

“Despite tremendous growth in alternative viewing options, TV is not going away,” said Scott Ferber, the chairman and CEO of Videology. “The future of video advertising is not about a one-way shift to digital video, it’s a holistic approach to all screens. The lines between TV and video are all but indistinguishable to consumers, and the most successful advertising will take that same approach.”

In response to these trends, Forrester Consulting found agencies, advertisers, and media companies are increasingly embracing new video options, and the technology needed to power them. Of surveyed participants, 72 percent expect that video buying will become more programmatic in the next three years; 71 percent think advertisers will shift dollars from linear TV to digital channels in the coming years; and 76 percent believe technology will be a crucial component for success.

Almost one-third of buyers said that difficulty with measurement would have a negative impact on their video buying in the future. Advertisers (44 percent) were more than twice as likely as agencies (21 percent) to agree that measurement concerns caused them to hold back.