Four of the biggest ad-supported video on demand (AVOD) platforms in the U.S. generated $3.5 billion in advertising revenue in the 12 months leading up to September 2021.
That’s according to new data from Kantar, which said that Hulu accounted for most of the ad sales over the period with $2.1 billion, followed by Paramount+ at $822 million, Peacock with $279 million and Tubi with $250 million.
The analysis, which is based on ad activity and spend for more than 2,600 brands, found that the aforementioned AVOD platforms generated $302 million in ad sales in September 2021, up 46% year over year.
Kantar broke down the AVOD spend by category and found that the media segment led with $573 million over the past year, followed by retail with $325 million, fueled in part by Amazon which spent $72 million across the measured services. Among other big brands spending on Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock and Tubi were Capital One ($74 million), Verizon ($57 million) and Geico ($50 million).
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“AVOD is one of the fastest growing platforms for ad investment due to its ability to deliver targeted, incremental reach,” said Stephen Davis, global product leader for advertising intelligence at Kantar, in a statement.
Kantar said its coverage of the AVOD market will expand in 2022 to include more than approximately $8 billion in reported AVOD spend from other services including Pluto TV, HBO Max, Discovery+ and PrendeTV.
nScreenMedia recently similar growth in the space though focused only on free, ad-supported streaming television (FAST) services like Pluto TV, Tubi, the Roku Channel and Samsung TV Plus. The research firm estimates that ad revenue earned by virtual linear channels will grow from $2.1 billion in 2021 to $4.1 billion in 2023.
“There was a time when many forecast the death of linear TV viewing,” said nScreenMedia analyst Colin Dixon. “However, it is now clear that the format continues to deliver value to viewers. The FAST market has just begun a long period of rapid expansion.”