The study, conducted with independent agency Cog Research and neuroscientist Dr Amanda Ellison at Durham University, claimed that the true cost on TV VOD was around 20% cheaper than on YouTube, and just a third of the cost of Facebook – even when including organic views, which make up a good proportion of Facebook’s exposure. It also claimed far greater engagement levels for broadcaster VOD platforms such as All 4 and The ITV Hub: 3.5 times higher than on YouTube. It found that in 73% of minutes spent "watching" YouTube ads, the video was hidden from view, with the user treating it as background audio. And completed advertising video views were found to be 62% lower on YouTube, and five times lower on Facebook, than on All 4. Facebook video came out particularly badly for attentiveness. In 30 hours of Facebook usage monitored, only three commercial video ads were viewed for longer than three seconds, with none passing 3.5 seconds. Jonathan Allan, sales director at Channel, 4 said: "These research results are compelling and support what we already know to be true – that BVOD is a far more effective and efficient use of brand marketing spend than social media platforms. "It’s particularly timely as Google and Facebook face further calls to take responsibility for brand safety and viewing measurement and should give advertisers and agencies much to consider as they evaluate their marketing mix and media investment decisions," he added.
The cost per thousand (CPM) views of broadcasters' video-on-demand platforms is 20% less than YouTube and five of the CPM of Facebook , according to a study commissioned by Channel 4 and carried out by Cog Research and neuroscientist Dr Jonathan Allan at Durham University . It found engagement on broadcasters' VOD platforms was 3.5 times higher than on YouTube , while completed advertising views were 62% lower on YouTube and a third times lower on Channel 4 than on All 4 .