On today's episode, we discuss what "going back to the office" may actually mean, the dawn of “tiered-access journalism,” video safe havens for brands, possible surges in travel plans, Facebook's new video speed dating app called Sparked, why the Rubik's Cube was invented, and more. Tune in to listen to the discussion with eMarketer principal analysts Jillian Ryan and Jeremy Goldman, and analyst at Insider Intelligence Blake Droesch.

Facebook continues its pivot to video

By 2025, we project that the number of Americans who are live video viewers will rise to 173.3 million. In comparison, 36.7 million Americans will be Twitch users by 2025. Much of Twitch’s viewership is live, but users can also watch recorded videos of past live streams and other content.

YouTube is the most popular platform for non-TV video content in the US, with 65% of the country’s short-form video viewers using the service to watch user-generated content, video game livestreams, and the like.

Facebook has introduced live shopping videos. Moreover, these platforms are working to make purchasing seamless with mobile wallet integrations and partnerships with ecommerce platforms like Shopify. Shoppable Video.

Facebook strongly encourages marketers to let Facebook choose the ad placements that will deliver the best results. If marketers say yes to that option (which many, but not all, do), they should at minimum use the asset customization tool to adjust their creative’s aspect ratio, video length, or other characteristics so it looks better within Stories.

But as streamer discontent with the platform grows, competitors like Facebook Gaming threaten to poach Twitch’s talent. Facebook Gaming has made expansive licensing deals with the likes of UMG, WMG, Sony, and more, letting its more than 100,000 streaming partners use most popular songs without fear.

On today's episode, we discuss whether TikTok is actually a top choice for social advertisers, how it compares with other ad channels, and what to make of the companies current shopping efforts. We then talk about Facebook's "meaningful pivot" around its ad business, the latest Federal Trade Commission suit against the social giant, and whether Reels on the blue app has potential. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer principal analyst at Insider Intelligence Debra Aho Williamson.

The return of live sports produced a flurry of licensing activity from broadcast networks and streaming services—including digital video, social, and ecommerce platforms. It also reignited concerns about the sustainability of pricing models for sports video and TV.

Smartphones added 6.5 minutes of video viewing, reaching 35.1 minutes per US adult in 2020. The growth rate for smartphone video will slow in 2021 but remain strong at 6.7%, pushing average minutes to 37.4 minutes. By 2023, this figure will be 41.4 minutes.

As a result, last year, adult TikTok users spent more time on TikTok than Facebook users did on Facebook. Even though engagement will slip slightly on both platforms, TikTok will continue to exceed Facebook engagement among users through the rest of our forecast. By 2023, adult TikTok users will spend 35 minutes on the social network, versus Facebook at 32 minutes among adult users.

Digital video time spent: Includes all video content viewed on desktop/laptop computers, mobile devices, and connected TVs, such as video streamed through over-the-top services. Excludes video streamed through social networks.

Facebook witnessed a 2.3-hour rise, but TikTok engagement was up by a massive 7.2 hours. The same study illustrated a similar trend in Germany among Android app use, albeit most of the gains were more marginal—the amount of time that people spent with Facebook, for example, inched up by half an hour. TikTok, however, saw an even larger jump than in France, of 10 hours.

Digital advertising confounded the conditions of the past year or so and will attract more than three-quarters of total media ad spending in 2021—£19.23 billion ($24.66 billion). Video has been the biggest driver of digital spend during this time.

There is no global triopoly, but ecommerce is collectively challenging Google and Facebook. Google will claim 28.6% of the worldwide digital ad market this year, and Facebook will take 23.7%. The ecommerce heavyweights combined (Alibaba, Amazon, and JD.com) will take 15.9%. Read Next.