Canoe Wins Accreditation From Media Rating Council

Canoe said its dynamic ad insertion service into video-on-demand programming has been accredited by the Media Rating Council.

“We are proud of the high bar Canoe sets for itself with regard to the integrity and trustworthiness of our platform,” said Joel Hassell, CEO at Canoe. “To be accredited by the MRC is quite an honor.”

The MRC audited Canoe and found that its measurement of ad impressions conforms with MRC standards.

“We congratulate Canoe on this noteworthy achievement,” said George W. Ivie, CEO and executive director of the MRC. “Canoe’s Video On Demand Dynamic Ad Insertion platform is the first ad-serving process to be accredited for advertising distributed through cable operator VOD services.  After a comprehensive review we have concluded Canoe’s methods for serving ads through set-top box devices complies with MRC’s Minimum Standards for Media Rating Research, as well as relevant industry ad-serving guidelines.”

Video on demand is becoming a more important place for networks to find viewers. Networks prefer VOD to DVRs for delayed viewing because in many cases, VOD systems block fast-forwarding during commercials, ensuring they’re messages are seen.

“We applaud Canoe for taking a leadership position and go through the detailed MRC accreditation process,” said John Collins, managing director, Broadcast & iTV, Media Storm. “The MRC Accreditation is worth the effort, in that it provides our advertisers extra confidence to place their media investment in cable VOD.”

Canoe was started by cable operators Comcast, Cox, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks to standardize technology around VOD.

Canoe's VOD dynamic ad insertion service is currently enabled across multiple cable operators, totaling more than 35 million cable households nationwide.

Canoe stewards thousands of ad campaigns each quarter on behalf of over 80 national television networks, including A&E, ABC, AMC, CBS, CW, Discovery, Fox, HGTV, MTV, Music Choice, NBC, TNT and Univision. Canoe’s reported impressions qualify as “served impression” counts as defined by the MRC and totaled more than 11 billion in 2015.

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.