The consumption of online video continues to grow. In its Online Video Forecasts 2018 report, Zenith reports that globally, consumers will spend an average of 67 minutes a day watching online video this year, up from 56 minutes in 2017, and the average person is expected to spend 84 minutes a day watching online videos by 2020. The study’s findings make it clear that marketers who want to reach their audiences where they live need to augment any other kind of media they are using with video.

The Zenith study defines online video as “all video content viewed over an internet connection, including broadcaster-owned platforms such as Hulu, ‘over-the-top’ subscription services like Netflix, video-sharing sites, e.g., YouTube, and videos viewed on social media.”

“Online video is driving growth in global media consumption, as smartphones with high-speed data connections make high-quality video available to people on the move, and smart TV sets give viewers unparalleled choice in the living room,” says Jonathan Barnard, Zenith’s head of forecasting and director of global intelligence. “The rapid rise in video viewing makes online video the world’s fastest-growing advertising format, creating new strategic and creative opportunities. Brands that do not currently have a strategy for online video need to think about getting one.”

In 2017, online video consumption increased by 11 minutes a day, and Zenith forecasts consumption to grow by nine minutes a day to 2020. Online video consumption accounts for almost all the growth in total internet use and is outpacing overall media consumption, so the category’s expansion is taking some time from traditional media.

Zenith estimates that in 2017, online video ad spending grew by 20 percent to $27 billion. This is behind the 36 percent peak hit in 2014, but growth remains high, with 19 percent forecast for 2018 and 17 percent on average to 2020. Online video ad spending is projected to reach $43 billion by 2020. By 2020, Zenith expects that the online video advertising marketing will be 23 percent of the size of the television advertising market, up from 14 percent in 2017. It reports that due to online video’s rapid growth, more brands are planning their television and online video advertising together, rather than using online video to add incremental reach to television ads.