ANA, 4As, CIMM To Study Multi-Currency TV Market

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The Association of National Advertisers, the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement and the American Association of National Advertisers said they are launching a study looking at the transition to a multi-currency TV market in the U.S.

A number of programmers are working with media buyers to test using data from measurement companies to buy and sell advertising–a role traditionally played by Nielsen.

But with Nielsen recently problems, including undercounting viewing during the pandemic and losing accreditation from the Media Rating Council, the industry has been more open to looking at alternate currencies from companies including iSpot, VideoAmp, Comscore and 605.

“There are good reasons to be positive about recent developments. CIMM’s members, across the industry, are largely optimistic that this transition will create new opportunities, drive increased investment in measurement offerings, stimulate innovation and facilitate the growth and development of advanced advertising across the market,” said Jon Watts, managing director at CIMM.

“However, there are also important uncertainties about how the transition will work in practice, the implications for planning and buying, and the challenges of navigating across and between different measurement solutions, leading at least some industry participants – including smaller networks, major agency groups and advertisers – to voice concerns. Our goal with this study to identify priorities for industry collaboration and cooperation to support the industry during this transition,” Watts added. 

The study will aim to look at perspectives on what is lacking in TV currency measurement, opportunities, challenges and risks presented by a transition to multiple currencies and steps that different TV networks are taking to support their ad sales, advertising clients and partners with measurement offerings.

It will exampling the levels of confidence of key stakeholders about the ability of the industry to make progress in key areas, the potential impact of the transition on advertiser investment and on the wider TV ad market, the approaches different agency groups are taking to support their clients and to upgrade planning and buying tools and platforms and perspectives on standards and accreditation for currency measurement vendors.

“It has been clear for some time that media and advertising measurement must evolve along with the consumer experience and advanced technology. So, this development for television is not unexpected, but nevertheless challenging. Our goal with this study is to help educate and inform the industry on how to transition from uncertainty to innovation in an increasingly complex transaction environment,” said Nathalie Bores, executive VP of measurement for marketers at the ANA.■

Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.