VideoAOL Races Past Google to Becomes Top U.S. Video Ad Property

AOL Races Past Google to Becomes Top U.S. Video Ad Property

In September 2013, 188.7 million Americans watched 46 billion online content videos, while the number of video ad views totaled 22.9 billion. AOL (fueled by its Adapt.tv acquisition) served the most video ads – 3.7 billion to Google's 3.2 billion.

Hardwired

The latest data from the comScore Video Metrix service shows that AOL’s acquisition of Adap.tv, which was completed in early September, enabled AOL to leapfrog over Google to land in the top position among video ad properties.

AOL not only topped the list of online video ad properties for September, it also served up 3.7 billion video ads – the largest number by a single property ever recorded by comScore.

“This is the first public data combining both Adap.tv and AOL as one unit, and these results reaffirm the significance of the acquisition and speak to the bright future that lies ahead in video,” said Ran Harnevo, the SVP of Video at AOL as well as the co-founder and CEO of 5min Media, and Amir Ashkenazi, the CEO and founder of Adap.tv in a post on the AOL Blog.

Their blog post includes other recent news and data:

  • At AOL’s first-ever Programmatic Upfront, five of the top six media holding companies committed to programmatic ad packages with AOL in 2014.
  • Adap.tv was also named by IPG’s MAGNA GLOBAL unit as its preferred video technology platform, accelerating the agency’s client successes across digital, mobile, and linear television.
  • AOL has recently announced partnerships with content brands like ESPN, Discovery and The Wall Street Journal.
  • AOL has launched several popular series including “#CandidlyNicole”, which features Nicole Richie, and “Hardwired”, which features Justine Ezarik (a.k.a. iJustine), which have raked in a combined 23 million views to date.
  • AOL is seeing a 32 percent increase in video views year-over-year, compared to 17 percent growth for the overall industry.

Harnevo and Ashkenazi conclude: “From investing in video advertising to syndicating short-form premium content to launching original programs with well-known talent, we have built a complete solution that brings together both content and technology, arming every edge of the ecosystem with what is needed for the next generation of video.”

Other Notable Findings in the comScore Data

In September 2013, 188.7 million Americans watched 46 billion online content videos in September, while the number of video ad views totaled 22.9 billion.

  • 87 percent of the U.S. Internet audience viewed online video.
  • The duration of the average online content video was 5.1 minutes, while the average online video ad was 0.4 minutes.
  • Video ads accounted for 33.3 percent of all videos viewed and 3.5 percent of all minutes spent viewing video online.

In September 2012, 181 million U.S. Internet users watched more than 39 billion online content videos, while video ad views totaled 9.4 billion.

  • 85 percent of the U.S. Internet audience viewed online video.
  • The duration of the average online content video was 6.4 minutes, while the average online video ad was 0.4 minutes.
  • Video ads accounted for 19.3 percent of all videos viewed and 1.3 percent of all minutes spent viewing video online.

Top Video Content Properties by Unique Viewers

In September 2013, Google sites, driven primarily by video viewing at YouTube, ranked as the top online video content property with 165.4 million unique viewers. Facebook ranked second with 67.2 million viewers, followed by AOL with 61.8 million, Microsoft sites with 49.2 million, and NDN with 49.1 million. Forty-six billion video content views occurred during the month, with Google generating the highest number at 16.2 billion, followed by AOL with 976 million, and Facebook with 975 million.

In September 2012, Google sites ranked as the top online video content property with 150.3 million unique viewers, followed by Yahoo sites with 57.4 million, AOL with 53.8 million, VEVO with 50.3 million, and Facebook with 46.4 million. More than 39 billion video content views occurred during the month, with Google sites generating the highest number at 13.1 billion, followed by AOL with 741 million.

Top Video Ad Properties by Video Ads Viewed

In September 2013, Americans viewed more than 22.9 billion video ads. As reported above, AOL assumed the top position for the first time with 3.7 billion ad impressions following its acquisition of Adap.tv. Google sites came in second with 3.2 billion ads, followed by BrightRoll Platform with 2.8 billion and LiveRail.com with 2.6 billion.

Time spent watching video ads totaled 8.5 billion minutes, with AOL delivering the highest duration of video ads at nearly 1.7 billion minutes. Video ads reached 55.4 percent of the total U.S. population an average of 133.6 times during the month.

In September 2012, Americans viewed 9.4 billion video ads, with each of the top five video ad properties delivering more than 1 billion video ads. Google sites ranked first with 1.8 billion ads, followed by BrightRoll Video Network with more than 1.3 billion, Hulu with 1.2 billion, Liverail.com with more than 1.1 billion, and Adap.tv with 1 billion.

Time spent watching video ads totaled 3.4 billion minutes, with BrightRoll Video Network delivering the highest duration of video ads at 681 million minutes. Video ads reached 51 percent of the total U.S. population an average of 60 times during the month.

Top YouTube Partner Channels by Unique Viewers

The September 2013 YouTube partner data revealed that video music channel VEVO maintained the top position in the ranking with 47 million viewers. Maker Studios climbed into the second spot with 33 million unique viewers, followed by Fullscreen with 34.5 million, NBC Entertainment with 29.8 million, Warner Music with 25.4 million, and ZEFR (formerly MovieClips) with 22.5 million.

The September 2012 YouTube partner data revealed that video music channel VEVO (48.8 million viewers) maintained the top position in the ranking, followed by Warner Music with 24.4 million. Maker Studios climbed into third position for the first time with 23.5 million viewers, followed by Machinima with 22.7 million, and Fullscreen with 21.2 million.

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