Broadcasters are barreling into this upfront season with plans to finally buy and sell media on currency other than Nielsen.
Why “finally”?
Although programmers geared up to use new video currencies during last year’s upfronts, there was still a lot of confusion between the concepts of measurement and currency, says Kelly Metz, managing director of advanced TV activation at Omnicom Media Group, speaking on this week’s episode of AdExchanger Talks.
The explosion of TV streaming opened the floodgates for new data sets that can help programmers and advertisers make sense of measurement, such as co-viewing and attention metrics. But buyers and sellers can’t justify transacting on these brand-new data sets without first having standards for measuring reach and frequency.
“When people say ‘measurement is a mess,’ I get what they mean – the industry still needs basic standards,” Metz says.
This dire need for consistency is why a group of programmers recently formed what they call a joint industry committee to create a baseline list of requirements for new video currencies.
And there has been some progress toward standardization.
“Measurement is in a much better place than it was just a year ago,” Metz says, and the industry is “relatively close” to reaching standards for new currencies.
But there’s still a lot of work to do. This is the year for transaction accountability, Metz says, and the industry “needs to get its act together.”
Also in this episode: A pulse check on Nielsen’s place in the race toward new TV currencies; how identity fits into the shift toward consistent measurement; and a deeper dive into the beef between TV broadcasters and YouTube.
For more articles featuring Kelly Metz, click here.
