Paramount To Use iSpot Metrics as Currency in Ad Transactions

By Jon Lafayette
( Broadcasting & Cable )
published

Viewing data being integrated into content giant’s systems

John Halley Paramount Global
John Halley (Image credit: Paramount Global)

Paramount Global and iSpot.tv said they reached an agreement under which the content company will use ispot.tv data as currency in advertising transactions across its U.S. media and streaming properties.

iSpot is one of the companies trying to challenge Nielsen’s dominance in TV measurement with metrics based on big data from smart TVs and set-top boxes. 

Paramount previously announced currency deals with two other Nielsen rivals, Comscore and VideoAmp.

Paramount said it is looking to collaborate with companies bringing new and more sophisticated approaches to measurement to support of a multicurrency future.

“Paramount has taken the lead in accelerating new measurement and currency enablement because the future of our industry depends on it,” John Halley, president of Paramount Advertising, said. “We are committed to supporting all new currency providers certified by the U.S. Joint Industry Committee [JIC], and we look forward to bringing greater transparency and flexibility to the way TV is transacted and measured. Our partnership with iSpot helps facilitate that goal.”

Sean Muller of iSpot

Sean Muller (Image credit: iSpot)

Paramount said iSpot’s data is being integrated into Paramount’s proprietary and licensed ad management systems to enable fast and seamless transactions.

“At the heart of new currency initiatives are ad buyers making more sophisticated investment decisions based on faster and more accurate cross-platform measurement,” said Sean Muller, iSpot founder and CEO. “To its credit, Paramount has long been among the leaders of the marketplace with its investment in infrastructure, its willingness to transact on advanced audiences, and its embrace of new forms of measurement that better quantify the effectiveness of advertising.”

Last month, ISpot’s ad reporting system earned accreditation from the Media Rating Council.

Along with Comscore and VideoAmp, iSpot earned conditional certification as ad currency by the JIC, which was formed by media companies to improve and standardise audience measurement.

iSpot also acquired 605, another big-data based measurement company.

Jon Lafayette
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.