[eMarketer] Hulu dominates connected TV ad spend

Hulu reported $2.1 billion in ad revenue for the year that ended in September 2021, per a new report by Kantar.

Its closest competitor was ViacomCBS’ Paramount+ with $822 million, followed by NBCUniversal’s Peacock with $279 million, and Tubi (owned by Fox Corp.) with $250 million.

Over the past several years, Hulu has consistently drawn the highest share of connected TV (CTV) ad revenue, aided by its early entrance to the streaming marketplace, as well as the advantages afforded by parent companies Comcast and Disney.

eMarketer estimates Hulu’s ad revenue will reach $3.13 billion this year, a 44% increase from 2020.

Its success, coupled with the rise of cord-cutting, has spurred other legacy media companies—the aforementioned ViacomCBS and NBCUniversal, to name but a few—to launch their own streaming services.

Yet Hulu’s main appeal lies in the fact that it most closely resembles cable TV, with viewers able to access most of the same content available on broadcast television. This similarity makes it appealing for brands who want to capitalize on the demand for CTV content, but lack familiarity with the rest of the streaming landscape.

As evidenced by the increasingly tense negotiations between streaming platforms and media companies, access to content, original or otherwise, has become a primary weapon in the streaming wars.

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