Executive Summary

This is the latest installment in an ongoing series of quarterly video overviews focusing on monetization, audience, and content. On the radar for Q2: upfront advertising, linear addressable and programmatic TV ad spending, and time spent with media updates.

Will the upfronts bounce back this year?

We expect US upfront TV ad spending for 2021-2022 to increase by 7.6% year-over-year (YoY) to $19.90 billion. And for the first time, we have broken out the portion of upfront digital video ad spending that goes to connected TV (CTV), which will increase by almost 50% this year to $4.51 billion.

Are advertisers spending more money on linear addressable TV?

We forecast a 33.1% increase in US linear addressable TV ad spending in 2021 for a total of $2.85 billion.

How much time will people spend watching digital video this year?

In 2021, US adults will spend 2 hours and 29 minutes per day viewing digital video, which is up 9 minutes from the previous year.

Do people still spend more time watching TV than digital video?

Time spent with digital video is growing as time spent with TV shrinks. However, in 2021 adult viewers will still spend 48 minutes more per day with TV than they do with digital video.

WHAT’S IN THIS REPORT? This report covers key events in the digital video industry based on data, trends, and business activity in Q2 2021. It includes forecasts for ad spending (upfront, linear addressable TV, and linear programmatic TV) and time spent with media.

KEY STAT: US upfront CTV video ad spending will increase by 49.5% this year to $4.51 billion.