TV measurement currencies are beginning the next lap in their race to replace Nielsen: certification.
On Wednesday, the broadcaster-backed joint industry committee (JIC) granted “conditional certification” to Comscore, VideoAmp and iSpot.
The JIC first began evaluating measurement companies over the summer to determine their level of transparency and access to census-level data.
Conditional certification was bestowed upon measurement companies the JIC believes are on the path to becoming currency, said Brittany Slattery, CMO of OpenAP, the data activation platform behind the JIC.
Those that passed this first test will soon get a second evaluation to audit the data they’re using. The JIC will decide which contenders receive full certification by early next year.
Fully certified measurement companies will get access to the JIC’s streaming data product, including first-party data from JIC members, such as Paramount, Warner Bros. Discovery and NBCUniversal. The streaming data product, which plugs into each broadcaster’s clean room technology, is set to beta launch next year.
But it will still be up to buyers and sellers to decide which companies they use as their currency, Slattery said.
The JIC is “just trying to create some baseline standards,” she added.
A first glance
And standards require consensus.
An even mix of agencies and programmers in the JIC determined conditional certification among the six contenders.
Innovid, Samba TV and 605 did not get conditional certification. (605 is now a part of iSpot, but it was evaluated individually over the summer.) OpenAP isn’t disclosing their exact scores.
The JIC actually sent a request for information to seven measurement companies, but – surprise – Nielsen didn’t respond.
The first part of the JIC’s grading process involved scoring companies on a scale of one to four based on their approach to privacy and data governance, transparency into match rates, their use of big data (as opposed to just panels) and integrations with clean rooms and programmatic partners. Companies needed to score at least a three in each category to get conditional certification.
What’s next?
The JIC’s second round of currency evaluations will take place throughout the fourth quarter.
The JIC is still finalizing the details of what this next evaluation will entail, but the point is to apply “further rigor in making sure what [candidates] said is accurate and validating the stability of [their] data,” Slattery said.
Companies that pass round two will receive full certification in early 2024 on a two-year term, with regular audits from the JIC leading up to recertification.
Those that don’t get certification from the JIC will be able to reapply in June of 2024. They’ll also have the option to apply for certification specifically for measurement as opposed to currency.
The JIC expects its measurement-specific certification track to be ready in 2024, Slattery said. The terms measurement and currency are often conflated, she said, but they’re two separate things that require different standards.
Measurement is a much broader category than currency in that it doesn’t directly determine the basis of a transaction, meaning it can include new and different data sets, such as attention and outcomes. Currency, on the other hand, must be based on measurement that’s consistent enough to forecast the cost of future campaigns.
The JIC is also still finalizing the details on its plans for measurement certification, but Slattery said the focus will likely be on outcomes-based measurement – an increasingly popular topic among TV advertisers.
Besides, the respondents that didn’t get conditional currency certification from the JIC may think they’re better suited for measurement, anyway.
“Innovid is not pursuing a currency strategy and, as such, did not expect to be selected as part of this process. Brands and agencies use Innovid’s platform to gauge performance [of TV ads] against business goals,” said Innovid Chief Commercial Officer Dave Helmreich in a statement. “We are currently in conversations with the JIC about a possible non-currency related partnership.”
As for Samba, it hopes to provide more measurement data to the currencies that get certified.
“Samba is not seeking certification as a linear TV currency, but [rather] as the provider of representative TV [and CTV] data to future-certified audience currency providers, in addition to being a provider of outcomes-based measurement solutions,” the company said in a statement.
