But in-game advertising, already a multibillion-dollar industry, is growing rapidly. We forecast that in the US alone, in-game advertising will increase 13% to $3.7 billion in 2020, and this likely underestimates the ads from the long-tail of game developers. Most ads within games are for other games.

While the pandemic has severely affected live entertainment, strong growth in subscription video services and gaming advertising will help offset some of those losses. Time spent with screens has skyrocketed, which has shielded the entertainment industry from potentially even bigger losses.

Live streaming is set for a comeback, and it won’t be just for gamers and esports viewers anymore. Almost every major social media platform, including Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, has now integrated live streaming into their services. And as video game live streaming platforms expand beyond gaming, the once-niche activity is primed for the mainstream in 2020. Take Twitch, for example.

Using gaming mechanics, traditional publishers can bolster what has become their central KPI: engagement.

Advertisers are embracing the popularity of connected TV by allocating more money to streaming platforms.

Early in the pandemic, most consumers went through a panic-buying period—stocking up on essential goods like toilet paper—as uncertainty over lockdown restrictions loomed.

The right way to place ads

Political ads have been banned on Twitter since November 2019, with a few exceptions for news publishers that meet Twitter’s exemption criteria. The game of whack-a-mole that Facebook is playing with political ads has propelled two major shifts within political advertising:.

According to an April 2019 survey of global consumers from mobile video ad network AdColony, three in five respondents said they encounter offensive content on Facebook, and about half that figure noted the same was true of YouTube. Inappropriate content appearing on Google, in mobile games, or on platforms like Instagram and Snapchat was less likely, but still apparent.

eMarketer sales executive Michael Bruckenthal, principal analyst Mark Dolliver and junior analyst Blake Droesch discuss how traditional sports are taking lessons from esports to create a more engaging viewing experience. Then Mark and Blake talk about Apple allowing push notification ads, the details of the KIDS Act bill, how Facebook is changing its digital currency ambitions and how the popularity of streaming services influence its ads.

The US computing products & consumer electronics industry will be the fastest growing digital ad spender in 2020, increasing its spend by 18.0% in a year when the total US digital ad market will only grow by 1.7%.

This year, US advertisers will spend $3.25 billion on ads placed within video games on mobile, desktop or console platforms, a 16.0% increase over 2018, per our estimates. People aren’t just playing games themselves on their phones, they’re also watching other people playing video games.

eMarketer sales executive Michael Bruckenthal, midmarket account manager Brandon Galindo and vice president of content studio—and author of our recent report, “Esports 2019: eMarketer’s Forecast for US Audience, US Ad Revenue Growth”—Paul Verna discuss the burgeoning world of esports. They chat about how different stakeholders are investing in this space, who’s watching, how large are the prize pools and audiences compared with traditional sports and marketing opportunities for advertisers.