Primetime is dead, flexibility is king for streaming ads, says new study from Roku & MAGNA

Roku and MAGNA Media Trials have released a new study, “TV Attention, Deconstructed,” revealing that traditional TV advertising rules no longer apply in the streaming era, urging advertisers to diversify platforms and rethink ad timing for better viewer engagement. The research underscores that viewer habits have fundamentally changed, making old strategies ineffective.

Service surfing: Forget loyalty; users treat streaming platforms like a revolving door, with 44% adding a service and 36% canceling one in the last three months. Gen Z, as detailed in the findings, leads this churn, meaning single-platform ad strategies are likely missing a wide audience.

Free’s fair fight: Ads on free, ad-supported streaming TV command just as much viewer focus as those on paid tiers with ads, according to data from over 16,000 viewers. The differences in viewability and engagement were “statistically negligible,” questioning the premium often associated with paid service ad slots.

Clock-out on primetime: The traditional “primetime” concept is obsolete, as viewer ad engagement remains steady throughout the day. Instead, attention naturally peaks on a 24-hour cycle tied to personal routines, and spacing ad exposures about 24 hours apart significantly boosts recall.

The Wider View: For those wanting the full data dive, the complete ‘TV Attention, Deconstructed’ study is available here. Meanwhile, the global appetite for free ad-supported TV (FAST) is set to explode, with projections showing 1.1 billion users by 2029.