Australian video ad spend hit $5.4B as programmatic CTV reached 60%
IAB Australia's Video Summit 2026 highlighted that Australian video ad spend grew 19.8% in 2025 to $5.4 billion, with programmatic CTV adoption at 60%, significantly higher than the US. Marketers expressed a desire for greater consolidation for frequency capping and harmonized cross-channel measurement, while economic uncertainty is identified as the primary concern. The event also noted the growing importance of the creator economy for ad strategies and ongoing technical infrastructure needs for live sports and frequency management.
Key Takeaways
- Total Australian video ad spend climbed 19.8% in 2025 to $5.4 billion, or 29% of all online ad investment.
- Programmatic CTV adoption in Australia was reported at 60%, compared with 33% in the US and about 19-20% in Europe.
- Economic uncertainty was the top concern for 2026, cited by 48% of buy-side respondents.
- 71% of ad buyers expect to increase spend on ad-supported subscription streaming platforms, and 47% plan to grow programmatic CTV budgets.
- The creator economy is now core to 25% of ad buyers’ strategies, and 54% of respondents regularly use retailer first-party data for video targeting.
Why It Matters
Australia’s video market is still growing fast, but the summit showed buyers are now focused on control: frequency capping, harmonized measurement, and a single view of cross-channel performance. That pressure lines up with a market where 60% programmatic CTV adoption has already outpaced the US and Europe, while live sports, creator content, and ad-supported streaming are taking a bigger share of budgets. The unresolved gap is measurement practice: nine in ten agencies say they have a unified strategy across screens, yet 25% rarely or never unify it in practice. Watch the findings from IAB Australia’s industry-wide measurement review later in 2026.
Read full article at iabaustralia.com.au
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