The study, Real-Time Data Analytics: Empowering Publishers to Make Better, Faster Decisions, found that 67% of publishers believe real-time data is important to their efforts, and 62% find that it leads to an increase in revenue. However, only 27% report actually receiving data in real time.

The study also found that 56% of larger publishers (with over 500 employees) say they are “challenged by the inability to get a single view of multiple data sources”, 59% are frustrated with disparate platforms and 54% with disparate metrics.

“The release of this study comes at a pivotal time for publishers as brand marketers increasingly turn to digital media for more effective advertising campaigns,” said Kirk McDonald, President of PubMatic. “The opportunity for growth is tremendous, but optimising ad inventory, connecting consumers with relevant content and growing revenue is increasingly difficult as the market becomes more crowded with a multitude of data sources.”

These findings are based on a survey of 110 publishers and media organisations across the US and UK.