The spread of broadband and more viewing devices means more people watching online videos and more opportunity for the advertisers who want to reach them. Nearly half the U.S. population and 65 percent of Internet users watched online video in 2010. Accordingly, online video/rich media was the fourth-biggest category of online advertising in 2011, representing $3 billion, and the category is expected to grow rapidly through 2014. One big reason for advertisers to like online video ads: consumers seem to be watching them. Eighty-eight percent of ads placed in long-form content (10 minutes or longer) were watched to completion, while 94 percent of those played mid-roll are watched to completion.
Infographic: Carlos Monteiro