Subscription saturation could drive change

Seven in ten UK consumers using video streaming services would now opt for an ad-based one over a premium subscription in a bid to save money, according to research from online advertising company Criteo.

Why it matters

Viewers are having to set up multiple payments to different services in order to watch maybe just one particular series. There’s a growing appreciation of the benefits of an advertising-based model – but brands will have to get much smarter in how they approach this. 

Key findings 

The tech firm’s State of Video & Connected TV report is based on responses from 1,000 UK consumers who own a smart TV or an internet TV device, and watch a paid or free video streaming service.

• ‘Useful’ and ‘relevant’ information are among the top three qualities respondents are looking for in video ads today. 
• Age (66%) and gender (65%) are the two pieces of personal information that consumers are most prepared to give up to improve the day-to-day advertising experience.
• 29% are happy to share their email address to establish an anonymised ID; and 26% are prepared to share their online shopping data.
• 49% search for the products and services they see in video ads (among GenZ and Millennials, this portion grows to up to 65% on mobile devices).
• People prefer ‘post content’ video-ads (31%) to pre-roll ads (19%) or mid-roll ads (12%). 

Key quote

“People are aware that the budget required to make new shows has to come from somewhere and with so many subscription-based models out there, the potential lies in making video advertising smarter and more accessible to the brands UK audiences want to hear from” – Matthew Hogg, vice president at Criteo.