US Ad Spending vs. Time Spent 2024

What Are the Most Intriguing Imbalances Between Marketer Expenditures and Consumer Behavior This Year?

Marketers will spend almost $390 billion on ads in the US this year, with more than half going to media and entertainment platforms that are constantly competing for consumers’ time and attention. US adults will spend an average of 12 hours, 37 minutes (12:37) per day with those platforms. Our analysis reveals significant—and sometimes extreme—imbalances between where marketers put their ad dollars and where consumers spend their media time.

Key Question: What insights can be gleaned by comparing our US time spent with media forecast with our US ad spending forecast—and where is ad spending most misaligned?

Key Stat: Meta draws a far larger share of US digital ad spending (21.3%) than would be expected, given the share of digital media time US adults spend on its platforms (7.5%, or 36 minutes) per day. No other major media platform comes close to this kind of skew.

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Table of Contents

  1. Executive Summary
  2. How to use this report
  3. Marketers are not aligned with consumers on CTV or traditional TV
  1. Social networks claim far more ad dollars than time spent, thanks to Facebook and Instagram
  2. Sub OTT’s unique evolution has created a major skew between ad spending and time spent
  3. No company leverages its users’ time quite like Meta
  1. Media Gallery

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authors

Ethan Cramer-Flood

Contributors

Vladimir de Leon
Chart Editor
Peter Newman
Director, Forecasting
Oscar Orozco
Director, Forecasting
Shelleen Shum
Senior Director, Forecasting
Sakina Thanawala
Matt Torpey
Senior Chart Data Specialist
Paul Verna
VP, Content
Max Willens
Julia Woolever
Director, Report Editing