Connected TVs accounted for 62% of ad views on devices in the second half of 2020 according to the latest version of FreeWheel’s U.S. Video Marketplace Report, up from 50% in the first half of 2020. However, FreeWheel reclassified ad views from IP apps on pay-TV operators’ set-top boxes to be included in CTVs for the first time. FreeWheel didn’t break out the number or percent these views accounted for.

The reclassification contributed to STB ad views declining from 23% in H1 ’20 to 14% in H2 ’20. The combination of CTV and STB increased from 73% of ad views in H1 ’20 to 76% in H2 ’20. Desktop increased from 11% to 16% of ad views during the period while mobile declined from 15% to 8%.

Roku and Amazon continued as the biggest CTV players, accounting for 72% of CTV ad views between them (Roku had 43% share and Amazon had 29% share).  Gaming consoles were a distant third, with 8%, followed by smart TVs and Chromecast (each with 7%) and all others with 6%.

The VMR found that in H2 ’20, 70% of ad views occurred through distributors and 30% on owned and operated properties. The 70% broke down as 37% through a streaming service, 25% through a pay-TV operator and 8% through a virtual pay-TV operator.

Ad views were up 57% from H2 ’19 to H2 ’20. Programmatic accounted for 24% of ad views in 2020, up from 5% in 2015, which FreeWheel attributed to publishers streamlining their tech stacks and programmatic providers evolving their technology to video.

The new VMR marks the 10th anniversary of FreeWheel publishing the report, and it chronicles the huge changes that have occurred during this period. It also includes five trends to keep an eye on for the next 10 years.

The full report can be downloaded here.