Xandr Platform announces accelerated growth in the First Half of 2021.
Xandr has seen significant increases in the premium video, Connected TV (CTV) and curated media spend on its platform for Q2 2021, AT&T’s data-enabled technology platform announced on 23 July.
According to Xander, with analysts predicting industry digital video and CTV spend to grow 28.1% and 34.8% in 2021 respectively, Q2 spend on Xandr’s platform in these areas was impressive. Total digital video spend on Xandr’s platform – globally, across Xandr Invest’s DSP and Xandr Monetize’s SSP and ad server – grew 125% YoY in Q2 2021 and 101% YoY in H1 2021.
The primary driver of this video spend growth across the platform is CTV, with total global platform spend up 180% in Q2 YoY and 203% in H1 YoY. Video represents 39% of overall spend on Xandr’s platform as of the end of the second quarter of 2021.
Total platform spend in Xandr’s markets outside of the United States grew 76% in Q2 YoY and 53% in H1 YoY, with video spend up 127% in Q2 YoY and 96% in H1 YoY, and CTV spend up 277% in Q2 YoY and 278% in H1 YoY.
Global spend on Xandr Invest grew 66% in Q2 YoY and 50% in H1 YoY, with spend specifically on CTV jumping 158% in Q2 YoY and 177% in H1 YoY, as Xandr scales strategic relationships through the demand chain, from agencies and holding companies to brands and direct marketers.
Due to growing direct integrations with premium video publishers, Xandr said its CTV inventory is increasingly available and monetized through Xandr. Global spend on CTV inventory, through Xandr Monetize, grew 337% in Q2 YoY and 362% in H1 YoY. Additionally, spend through Xandr’s data-driven TV Platform, inclusive of Invest TV, grew 18% in H1 YoY, double that of the broader linear TV industry.
Xandr said it’s Xandr Curate is now a major channel of demand for Xandr Monetize. In the first half of 2021, third-party curation activity grew three times as fast as Xandr’s own curation business, boasting 15 days of record spend in June. At the end of H1 2021, spend through Xandr Curate, across Xandr-managed and third-party curation, represented 13% of spend through Xandr Monetize.
Xandr plans to continue to invest in Xandr Curate in the second half of the year, adding powerful capabilities to help customers grow their businesses in this new segment.