Skip to content
Glossary / Video metrics

ThruPlay.

Short answer

A ThruPlay is Meta's count of the times a video ad was played to completion, or for at least 15 seconds if the video is longer than that. It is the top half of hold rate and an optimization goal for video campaigns.

Also called: ThruPlays, 15-second views

An example

A Kestrel & Vane 12-second video gets 9,000 ThruPlays, each one a full watch. Its 45-second founder story gets 7,500 ThruPlays, but each of those only proves 15 seconds were watched. For the long video, the team adds the 75% and 95% video play columns to see how many people stayed to the offer.

Why it matters

ThruPlays show how many people gave the ad real time, not just a glance. The 15-second cap means a ThruPlay says more about a short video than a long one, so compare ThruPlays across videos of similar length and use percentage play columns for long videos.

How to improve it

Make the first 15 seconds carry the main message and show the product early. For short videos, cut to the length the story needs: a tight 12 seconds often earns more completions than a padded 20.

ThruPlay in Fovea

ThruPlays come into Fovea with the nightly Meta sync for every ad, and the Meta Ads breakdown turns them into hold rate at campaign, ad set and ad level.

See Winners →

Questions, answered.

Does a ThruPlay mean someone watched the whole video?+

Only if the video is 15 seconds or shorter. For longer videos, a ThruPlay means at least 15 seconds were watched.

What is cost per ThruPlay?+

Spend divided by ThruPlays. It is the main cost metric when a campaign optimizes for ThruPlay, and a quick way to compare how cheaply videos earn real watch time.

Stop defining it.
Start seeing it.

Fovea tags every hook, angle and transcript on upload and keeps hook rate, hold rate and ROAS beside each linked creative.

Start free
  • 14-day free trial
  • No card
  • No ad-spend caps