CTV Ad 'Attention,' 'Viewability' Gain, But Linear TV Still Leads

Image source: MediaPost

Author: Wayne Friedman Source: MediaPost

Advertising "attention" and "viewability" -- two key measures of advertising effectiveness, according to TV measurement firm TVision -- continue to improve on connected TV (CTV) platforms versus linear TV.

In the first half of this year “ad attention” had a 34.5% score for CTV platforms, with linear TV at 36.2%. A year ago, CTV platforms posted a 31% number, with linear TV at 37%.

Similar trends have been witnessed with "ad viewability": CTV is at a 64% score; with linear TV at 70.7% over the last six months, compared to 60% and 71%, respectively, a year ago over the same time period.

"Attention" measures refer to when the viewer is in the room with their eyes on the screen; "viewability" measures, when the person is in the room while the TV set was on.

But when it comes to programming content, CTV platforms have an advantage: CTV scored a 132 “attention to visible index” number for its "premium" content, while linear TV posted a 122 number. This index measures how attentive viewers are while in the room.

“In general, CTV viewers are more intentional than linear TV viewers,” explain the authors of the report. “Because of the nature of CTV “channel surfing” viewers must actively choose the content they view. This leads to higher overall attention scores, higher co-viewing rates and longer viewing sessions for programming.”

TVision - which uses eyes-on-the-screen technology -- measuring attention and viewability when viewers have had their eyes on the screen for at least two seconds.

Data in this survey -- measured second-by-second, person-by-person -- comes from a survey conducted from January 1, 2022 to June 30, 2022, of 5,000 homes across the U.S., with demographic data self-reported by the respondents.