Users Will Accept In-Stream Video Ads: The Data

Nate Elliott | April 03, 2007, 08:36 AM

My colleague Joe Laszlo just published a report on Monetizing Consumer-Created Video. It's worth a read for its great analysis of the economics of serving online video content. But it also answers one of our most frequent client inquiries about video advertising.

I'm a big fan of in-stream video ads, but our clients often think that most consumers would reject in-stream ads as too invasive. That's the thinking YouTube's founders have expressed in the past as well, though they now seem to be softening their stance.

The reality, I tell them, is that most consumers don't actually *like* advertising in any form, in any medium. But people have proven willing to accept in-stream ads on TV, and so far they've proven willing to accept in-stream ads within online video as well. For me, the proof has been in the pudding.

But now we've got survey data to back this up as well. According to a January 2007 JupiterResearch consumer survey, just one-third of broadband users surveyed said they would only watch online video if there were no ads. And when asked to choose which ad format they'd prefer, guess which format was #2? Pre-roll ads. And post-roll ads weren't far behind. As long as sites carefully limit the length and frequency of in-stream video ads, there really is no reason consumers won't accept them.

A full analysis (and the answer to which ad format was most prefered) in Joe's report.