[eMarketer] Connected TV catches attention of US population

About two-thirds of the US population is monthly connected TV (CTV) users. Young people are more likely to use CTV than older people. Four in 10 US senior citizens are CTV users—whereas CTV usage is about double that, more than 80%, among those ages 25 to 54.

Ad-free services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video remain streaming juggernauts, but streaming video viewing is also increasing for services featuring advertising. Ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) viewers represent close to half of all US internet users.

In September, eMarketer published its first-ever estimates for AVOD viewers. The AVOD estimate excludes YouTube and other services that rely heavily on user-generated content such as Twitch. The AVOD estimate includes paid subscription services like Hulu and Paramount+, which feature advertising. It also includes free ad-supported services like The Roku Channel, Tubi, IMDb TV, and Pluto TV. This forecast is defined as individuals of any age who watch videos on an ad-supported platform featuring professionally produced content at least once per month.