Gaming, alcohol, lottery spending up

Viewing of digital video continues to rise and some advertisers are taking advantage of the increase in available inventory.

SpotX reports that for the week of March 19, there was a 16% increase in video ad inventory, compared to the prior week.

As a result of the increase in viewing over-the-top publishers are increased ad calls by nearly 25%

SpotX said that gaming ad spend is up 294%, alcohol ad spend is up 89% and spending on lottery ads are up 97%.

On the downside, travel/hospitality and real estate advertisers have reduced spending by more than 70%.

At the same time, data from video ad management company Beachfront show a 105% increase in average daily CTV ad requests on its platform so far in March vs all of February.

All video ad requests are up 51% over the same period.

“Typically, big increases in CTV ad requests come from major sporting events like March Madness, for sure, or the Olympics. Those are always the things driving people to television sets -- and that’s just as true for digital,” said Frank Sinton, president and founder of Beachfront.

Sinton said those big events usually drive increase of 10% to 30% increases in usage.

“This is obviously different since the majority of people are both home watching TV, and don’t have the same stand-by programming like sports to watch. The smartest brands understand that dynamic, and use CTV to embrace the right balance in a national time of need,” he said.

In this time of crisis, CTV is proving to be a good platform for viewers looking for a diverse array of content, Sinton said.

“Connected TV is the great equalizer in terms of content, and at a time when people are largely confined to their homes, they’re looking for more, unique entertainment in addition to what you can watch on the traditional TV networks,” he said.