New Data From Conviva Reveals Global Spike in Streaming During First Quarter 2021; Viewers Flocking to Big Screens

Quarterly State of Streaming Report Details Roku’s Lack of International Penetration, Surge in Streaming Ads and the Value of Social Streaming

Conviva, the intelligence cloud for streaming media, released its State of Streaming report for Q1 2021 today, revealing streaming viewing time grew 36% during the first quarter. While North America, the world’s biggest streaming market, saw solid 18% year-over-year growth in streaming viewing, the true streaming explosion occurred internationally, with South America (240%), Africa (149%) and Europe (122%) experiencing triple-digit streaming growth.

“This rapidly expanding international audience has created an enormous opportunity for content developers, device manufacturers and advertisers to engage new audiences as the brands and publishers who understand exactly how, when and where people are streaming, will inevitably triumph.”

The report also revealed consumers are flocking to connected TV devices, smart TVs and gaming consoles, as evidenced in big screens commanding 73% share of Q1 streaming viewing globally. Roku and Amazon Fire TV, while still dominant, saw a slight decline (2.9% and 3.6% respectively) in share of viewing time in Q1, as international viewing and smart TVs continued to surge globally. While Roku captured a significant 30% share of global big screen viewing time, this dominance was primarily driven by North America where it commanded 37% share in Q1 2021. In Europe, the second largest market for Roku, Roku only accounted for 8% share of the big screen, and it did not fare any better in other regions, with 4% share or less in Africa, Asia, Oceania, and South America.

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“In every region in the world, streaming viewership is growing, representing a global shift in the way people consume content,” said Bill Demas, CEO, Conviva. “This rapidly expanding international audience has created an enormous opportunity for content developers, device manufacturers and advertisers to engage new audiences as the brands and publishers who understand exactly how, when and where people are streaming, will inevitably triumph.”

Streaming Viewing Grows Globally; Varies by Region

According to Conviva’s findings, there is significant variation in the way consumers in different regions stream on big screens. In Africa, where big screens represent 56% of all viewing time, CanalPlus set top box was the preferred device, with 54% share of all Q1 big screen viewing time. In Asia, Android TV held 49% of all Q1 big screen viewing time, while in North America, where big screens are responsible for 81% of all viewing time, Roku continued to dominate with 37% share. In Europe, big screen viewing time was divided relatively equally among devices, while in Oceania, Chromecast ruled with 24% and in South America, Samsung TV held 30% share of big screen viewing.

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Streaming Ads Surge and Improve; Super Bowl Pays Dividends

Q1 2021 saw a post-pandemic resurgence of streaming ads, with ad attempts growing 4%, ad impressions jumping 13% and missed ad opportunities falling 16% quarter over quarter. Ad quality also improved in Q1 2021 with ad start times down to half a second, a 50% improvement, and bitrates up 57% as compared to Q4 2020. Conviva also found advertisers experienced significant ROI from their Super Bowl efforts, sustaining nearly three times the level of social engagement post-Super Bowl as compared to pre-Super Bowl.

Streaming Publishers Find Success on Social

Social platforms continue to deliver strong ROI for streaming publishers, delivering new audiences and increased engagement. The total number of posts from streaming publishers on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube combined grew 99% in Q1 2021 as compared to Q1 2020, with total videos increasing 39% and total engagements increasing 24%. Audience growth across all social platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and TikTok, grew 61% year over year.

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