Case Study: Discovery Communications achieves a 6% increase in video click-throughs and improved ad viewability with Optimizely

Discovery optimizes digital ad viewability

Discovery Communications, a media and entertainment company, needed to improve its online visitor experience and drive revenue by increasing video engagement and ad viewability across its digital properties. The product team identified opportunities on video pages and ad placements and ran experiments — including a “Ken Burns” hover effect test — to address engagement and visibility challenges.

Using Optimizely’s Web and Feature Experimentation (with Moat integration for ad metrics), Discovery tested the hover-panning effect on ~20,000 visitors, yielding a 6% lift in click-throughs to video content. The team also used real-time experiment data to optimize ad size, placement, and display, improving viewability across video, games, and gallery pages, and is now planning experiments focused on improving page load performance for mobile.

Discovery Communications

Jeffrey Douglas

Director of Product, Discovery Digital Networks