viewing hours increase 21%

Comscore’s State of Streaming Report shows that hours of connected TV viewing in May 2023 increased by 21% compared to the May 2022.

The number of households in the U.S. who are streaming TV has also increased — from 69% of U.S. homes in 2022, 73% now do so. The CTV advertising spend is also growing rapidly.

Why do we care? These statistics support the argument for shifting ad dollars away from linear television and towards alternatives such as CTV and online videos. CTV’s growing reach, increased hours of viewing and enhanced targeting capabilities make it almost certain that advertising spending will increase.

Hours of streaming. From January 2022 until January 2023, the combined hours of online and CTV video watched will exceed those hours spent watching linear TV. Ad dollars are most closely competed for by CTV and online videos. CTV is the most popular choice for consumers, with 131 billion hours spent on CTV. Online video accounts for another 125 billion.

Top streaming service. At least one third of U.S. homes stream the top six streaming services. The following is a ranking of the top six streaming services in terms of reach and hours viewed in May 2023.

CTV Share. Marketers that value CTV’s targeting capabilities, should pay attention to where audiences spend their time. Netflix introduced advertising-supported streaming in the past year. However, they also lost 5% of CTV time.

Linear TV providers now offer CTV services as well. Comscore discovered that three CTV providers who offer linear TV services ranked in the top 10 for hours watched per household. Spectrum CTV had the highest share at 3%.

Smart TVs. Comscore reports that Smart TVs dominate the CTV streaming market. The number of households streaming content on Smart TVs has increased by 23% since 2020.

Dig deep: Roku launches HD and 4K Smart TVs

The article CTV watching hours increase 21% first appeared on MarTech.