The table illustrates the average duration of ten different categories of YouTube advertisements alongside the average time viewers spend watching them. Overall, the data indicates that while ad length varies significantly across categories, viewers generally watch only a portion of the total ad duration.
Public Service advertisements stand out as the longest, averaging 66.7 seconds, and they also command the highest viewing time at 28.1 seconds. In contrast, Pharmaceuticals have the shortest average length at 21.8 seconds, with viewers watching for 16.0 seconds. Entertainment and news ads demonstrate high engagement, with viewers watching for 26.5 seconds out of a 30.8-second total, which is a notably high retention rate compared to other categories.
Conversely, Life style ads show a discrepancy between length and engagement; despite being 33.7 seconds long, they record the lowest average viewing time at just 14.3 seconds. Technology ads, which are relatively long at 39.3 seconds, only retain viewers for 20.9 seconds. Across all categories, the overall average length is 38.1 seconds, while the average time viewed is 20.4 seconds, suggesting that, on average, viewers watch slightly more than half of the content provided.