Hulu Ads: 100% Watch Rate

December 7, 2009 · 1 comment

in TV and Movies

I wonder what the prices for TV and Internet TV spots are.

Ads in Internet videos work — at least on Hulu.  As a viewer, I’m forced to watch them because:

  1. they’re too short (15-30 seconds) to walk away from, and
  2. I can’t skip them like I do on my DVR.

I almost never see any commercials on TV.  With a 100% watch-rate for Internet TV spots versus my 0% watch-rate for TV spots, I’m a bit surprised that Hulu isn’t making enough money just on advertising. They’re planning to charge for some access starting next year.  Maybe they’re not charging enough for ads, or maybe the prices for TV ad spots are still inflated.

In addition to the 100% watch-rate, ads on Hulu have much better engagement data.  Marketers can track responses (clicks on the ad) and have demographics data for those clicks (if the user signs in to Hulu).

When do you think marketers will pay more for Hulu ads than TV ads?

  • RamRodRon

    Be careful of what you try to extrapolate. The fact that your individual watch rates are 0% and 100% have very little bearing on larger numbers. For one, I found this blog while a Hulu ad was being played. I almost never watch them, as something more interesting is a simple click away. As for tv ads, the fact that you and I watch very few of them is of little importance. The episode of Lost I just watched on Hulu was 44 minutes, meaning 1/4 of the allotted hour when it originally aired was commercial time versus the 2-3 minutes on hulu. Combine that with the larger portion of the population that watches television, and you still have many more viewers when advertising on tv.

Previous post:

Next post: