TubeMogul‘s Canadian pre-roll video inventory more than doubled in volume between Q2 and Q3 this year, according to the company’s most recent report on the Canadian video market. The report marks another quarter that publishers have enthusiastically embraced programmatic video.
TubeMogul tracks auctions by all video supply partners connected to its platform. It recorded a jump of 124% between July and September.
The report said new inventory brought online by comScore Top 100 sites was a major contributor to overall growth. Top 100 inventory grew 156% over the period.
A spokesperson said some of the growth came from integrations with new supply partners, but the company is nonetheless confident the growth numbers represent major growth in the Canadian programmatic video market as a whole. TubeMogul has the third-largest potential reach in online video in Canada, according to comScore numbers from October.
The influx of new supply in Q3 depressed prices significantly, pushing CPMs down 8% from an average of $9 in Q2 to $8.27 in Q3. Average CPMs for ComScore Top 100 sites declined less sharply, dropping only 3% to $7.73, but nonetheless fell below the average CPM for inventory that TubeMogul classifies as “Tier 3” or lowest quality.
The growth comes at a time when display inventory has flattened out. It’s believed that most large publishers that plan to put their display impressions on the exchanges have done so already.
The same is not true for video and mobile, which have only recently become a focus for programmatic buying. Publishers are still bringing their video inventory online in programmatic, and some major publishers have yet to enter the space.
According to IAB Canada’s most recent revenue survey, advertisers’ online video spend grew 58% in 2013 and reached $146 million. eMarketer projects it will grow another 52% next year, reaching $255M.
TubeMogul’s quarterly report found Canada’s average video viewability rate in Q3 was relatively stable at 43% (down from 45% in Q2), and remains several points ahead of the global average (37%). Mobile video inventory had a slow month compared to previous growth, with a 29% increase in auctions from Q2 to Q3.
