Zenith: online video viewing to exceed an hour per day in 2018

Online video viewing will exceed an hour per day on a global level in 2018, according to a new forecast by Publicis-owned media agency Zenith.

Zenith’s Online Video Forecasts 2018 estimates that global consumers will spend an average of 67 minutes a day watching online video this year, up from 56 minutes last year.

By 2020 the average person is expected to spend 84 minutes a day watching videos online – with viewers in China, Russia and the UK expected to watch the most online video at 105, 102 and 101 minutes per day respectively.

Zenith said that global online video consumption grew by 11 minutes a day in 2017 and is expected to grow by an average of 9 minutes a day each year to 2020.

“It [online video] accounts for almost all the growth in total internet use, and is growing faster than media consumption overall, so it is taking consumption time from traditional media,” according to the report.

“Although some of this extra viewing is going to non-commercial platforms such as Amazon Prime and Netflix, plenty of it is going to commercial platforms, so the supply of commercial audiences is rising rapidly.”

By Zenith’s estimates, online video ad spend grew 20% in 2017 to reach US$27 billion and will grow 19% in 2018 and then by an average of 17% annually to 2020. In 2020, online video ad spend is expected to reach US$43 billion.

The online video ad market was estimated to be 10% of the size of the television ad market in 2015, and 14% in 2017. By 2020 Zenith expects online video ad spend to be 23% of the size of TV ad spend.

“Online video is driving growth in global media consumption, as smartphones with high-speed data connections make high-quality video available to people on the move, and smart TV sets give viewers unparalleled choice in the living room,” said Jonathan Barnard, Zenith’s head of forecasting and director of global intelligence.

“The rapid rise in video viewing makes online video the world fastest-growing advertising format, creating new strategic and creative opportunities. Brands that do not currently have a strategy for online video need to think about getting one.”

The fourth edition of Zenith’s annual Online Video Forecasts report covered 59 key markets and looked at all video content viewed over an internet connection – including broadcaster-owned platforms such as Hulu, over-the-top subscription services like Netflix, video-sharing sites like YouTube, and videos viewed on social media.