4 reasons streaming TV should be an integral part of your media mix
Partner content
As advertisers navigate an evolving media landscape, where there are challenges like brand safety, measurement or content quality, streaming TV will become an invaluable channel to leverage.
You’ve just settled in for the evening, ready to relax. You open your favourite streaming service, eyes fixed on the screen, excited to dive into your next episode or film on your watchlist.
It’s a scene we all know well and one shared by over 50.1m people across the UK, according to an Emarketer forecast report.
Interestingly, a significant shift is under way as savvy consumers increasingly opt for competitively priced, ad-supported streaming services and subscription tiers. In fact, 81% of streaming TV viewers are watching ad-supported content, creating a large addressable audience of 41m streaming TV viewers that advertisers can tap into.
This premium streaming TV environment has created a powerful opportunity for advertisers to reach large, hyper-engaged audiences, especially when you factor in that 76% of UK consumers watch streaming TV daily.
As advertisers navigate an evolving media landscape, where there are challenges like brand safety, measurement or content quality, streaming TV will become an invaluable channel to leverage.
Magnite’s latest UK research reinforces what we have observed with clients and through additional studies across multiple markets: viewing sessions are longer and more engaging on larger screens, making premium streaming environments highly effective.
This opportunity can no longer be overlooked when advertisers are building their media plans to reach and engage audiences.
Content quality enhances brand perception
Streaming TV platforms offer viewers professionally produced, long-form content. This can vary across video-sharing platforms (VSPs), which often feature user-generated content that can be inconsistent in terms of quality and where distractions are common.
These factors all detract from the experience and, as a consequence, advertising effectiveness.
Our research found that 88% of VSP viewers spend the majority of their time watching non-premium content. This highlights why streaming TV presents an opportunity to advertisers that want to utilise premium content as a vehicle to capture audience attention.
Premium TV environments inspire trust
Consumers associate premium content from trusted providers with the ads appearing alongside it.
In our research, 40% of consumers agreed that ads seen on streaming TV add to their credibility. This can also be attributed to the brand-safe environment that premium TV supplies, compared with the sometimes unvetted content you might find that shows up on VSPs.
Engaging content leads to more memorable ads
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that this premium content placement leads to higher ad recall. Our research shows that premium streaming environments lead to 8% higher brand recognition when compared with VSPs.
But this gets even more interesting when you combine streaming TV and VSPs as part of your overall strategy, where it is seen to boost brand recognition by 14% collectively.
The takeaway from this? It’s not about choosing one over another, but supercharging your strategy by combining both channels in your media planning.
Stronger ad recall translates into purchase behaviour
Ad recall is vital when it comes to influencing consumer decision-making. When a viewer remembers an ad, they are more likely to engage with the brand and enter the consideration phase.
We found that streaming TV is over two times more likely to influence purchase decisions when compared with VSPs. This means that premium streaming TV is not only a great way to drive brand awareness through an engaged audience, but also a tool that helps foster purchase behaviour.
What does this mean for UK advertisers?
These UK findings align with our studies across Brazil, India and Japan — showcasing that streaming TV consistently delivers stronger brand impact across markets.
With higher ad effectiveness, stronger brand trust and better conversion rates than VSPs, streaming TV is a must-buy for advertisers aiming to drive business results.
And as consumer viewing habits continue to shift towards streaming, it paints a clear picture that brands that prioritise and include streaming TV as part of their media strategies will see greater results and returns.
As the leading independent sell-side advertising company, Magnite continues to empower brands with the technology and tools needed to maximise their impact through premium streaming TV advertising.
Interested in leveraging streaming TV? You can read our full UK report here.
Julie Selman is senior vice-president, head of EMEA, at Magnite