For over a decade, the digital advertising landscape has been dominated by so-called walled gardens—Google, Meta (Facebook), and Amazon. These platforms accounted for a significant portion of both user attention and advertising budgets, leveraging their massive user bases, precise targeting capabilities, and closed ecosystems. However, consumer behaviors have shifted significantly, and walled gardens are losing their share of time spent by users, prompting advertisers to rethink where they should invest their media budgets.

Decline in time spent in walled gardens

According to data from GlobalWebIndex, the percentage of time adults in the U.S. spend on closed platforms has significantly decreased over the last decade. In 2014, 62% of online time was spent in walled gardens, while the open internet accounted for only 38%. By 2023, these numbers had reversed—users now spend 61% of their online time on the open internet, leaving just 39% in walled gardens.

This trend is driven by the rising popularity of premium content in the open internet, such as connected TV (CTV), digital audio, and high-quality journalism. Platforms like Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, and Spotify are capturing more user attention by offering immersive, high-quality experiences, with which walled gardens, dominated by user-generated content (UGC), struggle to compete. Additionally, concerns about data privacy, ad overload, and brand safety have led many consumers and advertisers to seek alternatives to walled gardens.

Where are advertising budgets going?

Changes in consumer behavior are closely linked to the redistribution of advertising budgets. Historically, Google and Meta (Facebook) dominated the digital ad market. However, their dominance is waning. In 2023, Google and Meta together accounted for 46.6% of digital ad spend in the U.S., down from over 53% in 2019. Amazon, which is part of the walled gardens ecosystem, accounted for 10.2% of digital ad spend in 2023. These figures suggest that while walled gardens still hold a substantial share of the ad market, their share is decreasing.

This decline isn’t happening in a vacuum. Advertising budgets are increasingly being directed to the open internet, where most consumer attention now lies. Premium digital destinations such as CTV platforms, digital audio services, and trusted publishers offer advertisers the opportunity to reach highly engaged, valuable audiences, often in a more brand-safe environment. As a result, there has been a surge in interest in CTV advertising, with platforms like Hulu, Disney+, and Roku gaining importance for marketers.

The growing value of premium ad spaces

Advertisers are not only following consumer attention but are also actively seeking high-quality ad spaces in premium environments. Research by The Trade Desk shows that top-tier ad impressions on CTV platforms or trusted publishers cost significantly more than user-generated content in walled gardens. In the second half of 2023, advertisers paid an average of 78% more for ad impressions in CTV compared to impressions outside premium environments. This trend reflects the growing importance of brand safety, ad visibility, and content quality.

Digital audio is another area where ad spending is rising. Platforms like Spotify, now offering high-quality premium advertising opportunities, are attracting increasing ad budgets. With the growing popularity of digital audio—averaging nearly three hours daily among U.S. adults—advertisers are increasingly directing their campaigns through this channel to reach engaged audiences.

What does this mean for the future?

The shift away from walled gardens towards the open internet reflects not just a change in where consumers spend their time. It also signals a transformation in how advertisers approach digital marketing. The open internet, driven by high-quality content and advanced targeting capabilities, is becoming an attractive alternative to walled garden ecosystems. As more premium platforms adopt programmatic advertising and advanced identification solutions like UID2.0, the open internet will attract more advertising budgets.

Furthermore, as the U.S. Department of Justice takes legal action against Google for monopolistic practices, and advertisers grow increasingly wary of opaque pricing in walled gardens, the appeal of transparency and premium inventory in the open internet is likely to grow. Marketers are already paying more for high-quality ad spaces, and this trend is expected to continue as brand safety and transparency become increasingly important for advertisers.

Conclusion

The decline in time spent in walled gardens has led to a noticeable shift in the flow of advertising budgets. As consumer preferences evolve toward premium content in the open internet, advertising budgets are following this trend. Although walled gardens continue to dominate the digital advertising market, their importance is diminishing, opening the door for premium publishers, CTV platforms, and digital audio services to capture a larger share of advertising budgets.

The future of digital advertising is likely to see even greater investment in premium environments outside of walled gardens, with a focus on delivering high-quality, brand-safe content that resonates with increasingly discerning consumers. This ongoing transformation marks a critical moment for marketers aiming to optimize their ad spending in a rapidly changing digital landscape.