NBCU, Fox, Paramount, WBD unite to develop future of streaming measurement

Dive Brief:

Fox, NBCUniversal, Paramount, TelevisaUnivision and Warner Bros. Discovery, along with OpenAP and the Video Advertising Bureau (VAB), have formed the Joint Industry Committee (JIC), which will work to enable multiple currencies and establish cross-platform measurement solutions for streaming video, per a press release.
The JIC will announce its measurement certification standards on March 1 and will share its progress at an event on April 25, with a goal of having solutions in place before the 2024 upfronts.
The partners are looking to take a bigger role in the creation of cross-platform measurement standards that would strengthen the streaming video ad ecosystem and hope to add other premium video programmers as well as collaborate with ad agencies and trade bodies.

Dive Insight:

The formation of the JIC by four of the major TV networks is the latest in a flurry of recent industry steps to develop cross-platform measurement solutions amid the proliferation of streaming platforms. By coming together, the networks — along with VAB and OpenAP — hope to position themselves as leaders in the race to serve advertisers, agencies and consumers in an increasingly competitive space.

The organization — which is focused on streaming video, not linear TV — intends to expand membership to other video programmers. At launch, streaming video heavyweights Amazon, Netflix and Disney have not signed on — absences that could possibly limit the effectiveness of the group's eventual measurement solutions.

"The sustainability of the premium video advertising model depends on an ecosystem for measurement that is transparent, independent, inclusive, and accurately reflects the way all people consume premium video content today – across multiple screens, connections, and devices," per a joint statement by Jeff Shell, CEO of NBCUniversal; Bob Bakish, CEO of Paramount; Wade Davis, CEO of TelevisaUnivision; and David Zaslav, President and CEO, Warner Bros. Discovery.

The JIC has several priorities as it looks to firm up its measurement goals by the 2024 upfronts, when broadcasters and video platforms present their upcoming programming to potential advertisers. Those priorities include establishing a measurement certification process for third-party vendors conducting cross-platform currency services; bringing together streaming viewership data to create a programmer data set; engaging a third-party audit firm to verify the accuracy of the data set; and collaborating with industry groups including the ANA, 4A's, IAB, ARF and more.

The formation of the JIC comes amid several developments in the race to plot the future of TV and video measurement. Nielsen on Jan. 11 will launch Nielsen One Ads, a cross-platform product that spans linear TV, connected TV (CTV), desktop and mobile measurement — seeking to help the embattled measurement firm compete in the streaming era. NBCUniversal has continued to expand its alternative currencies initiatives, and last year signed on GM, T-Mobile, Pepsico, State Farm and Marriott to transact on new currencies.