Are Facebook and Google really taking all the digital ad growth?

Brian Wieser, an analyst at Pivotal Research, calculated that Facebook and Google took 74.6 percent of the digital ad growth in the U.S. in 2015, and about 98 percent of the growth in the first half of 2016. 

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Many researchers base their overall ad spend estimates off Interactive Advertising Bureau surveys. Although IAB surveys, undertaken by PricewaterhouseCoopers, are widely recognized within the advertising industry, they, like all surveys, cannot capture every company operating on the internet.

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Another important caveat is the distinction between gross and net revenue. Research that shows Facebook and Google receive all the digital ad growth is examining gross revenue, which means it’s only tracking how money flowed through the channels.

Tracking gross revenue is relevant, even if it doesn’t tell you where the money winds up. Google and Facebook receiving all the gross revenue growth indicates that publishers are losing direct relationships with buyers, Wieser said. Even if publishers indirectly receive a portion of the spend flowing through Facebook and Google, they lose control over the deal terms as more spend is directed through the platforms, he said.
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 EMarketer is one firm that forecasts net revenue. Its research predicts that Google and Facebook will account for 57.6 percent of net revenue growth in worldwide digital advertising in 2016.
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An enormous chunk of money sits in between eMarketer’s 58 percent net growth estimate and Pivotal’s 98 percent gross growth estimate.
 http://digiday.com/platforms/facebook-google-really-taking-digital-ad-growth/