In 2020, digital video ad spending exceeded TV ad outlays for the first time in Canada. Digital video gained the most momentum of any format amid the pandemic last year, growing by 10.0% year over year (YoY). This includes both in-stream video formats (e.g., YouTube ads) and those outstream (ads appearing in social media feeds).

Digital video viewership, time spent with the medium, and video ad spending are all reaching new heights in Canada.

Average daily time spent with media shot past the 10-hour mark last year, pushing media consumption to new levels in Canada.

Digital video viewership in Canada is among the highest in the world, driven by high usage of YouTube and Netflix.

Canadian viewership will reach new heights this year, according to our latest digital video viewer forecast.

Our forecast for digital video viewers in Canada highlights greater consumption of the medium during the pandemic.

eMarketer junior forecasting analyst Nazmul Islam breaks down TV’s share of the total video ad market in Canada and why budgets are flowing to competitors like YouTube and Instagram. Watch now.

Our revised estimates for total ad spending in Canada this year show a big decline, mirroring what’s expected overall for the Canadian economy. Digital will hold its level after years of double-digit growth.

The adoption of social commerce—the ability to shop and buy, directly or indirectly, via social media platforms—accelerated during the pandemic. The vast majority of social commerce today is within the discovery and consideration stages. However, checkout capabilities are not available from the leading social networks in Canada.

Instagram and YouTube were also social platforms that many respondents said they use for both influence and to make purchases, with YouTube in particular being nearly as popular a destination for influence as Facebook. Overall, we expect there will be a big pivot to more UGC this year.

This report collection explores programmatic digital display ad spending through 2021 across Canada, China, France, Germany, the UK and the US. Reports include breakdowns by device, transaction type and more, and explore the factors driving investment.

YouTube viewer penetration in Mexico is 46.3%—where nearly half of the population will watch video via YouTube’s app or website at least once per month. We expect there to be 58.3 million YouTube viewers in Mexico this year, with that number rising to 64.5 million by the end of our forecast in 2023. Q: How important is the hardware consideration when it comes to digital video consumption?

This report will take a look at the key digital habits and personas across age groups in Canada.