YouTube, partner channels get new comScore mobile video measurements

Dive Brief:

ComScore has added a new mobile video metric for YouTube and its partner channels, according to a comScore press release. The expanded measurement options aim to help content producers show a clearer picture of their audience size as mobile viewing becomes increasingly important.
YouTube Partner Program members should be able to use the new metrics to improve cross-channel monetization of content across channels. Singling out mobile viewership has become important as 70% of YouTube views now happen on mobile devices, according to research cited by comScore.
Of the top 50 YouTube channels, each, on average, extended its desktop reach by 218% when accounting for things like smartphones and tablets; total time viewed on those channels also increased by 380% after factoring in mobile views. Sixty-nine YouTube Partner channels reached a monthly audience of at least 10 million viewers across desktop and mobile combined when just 15 YouTube Partners reached that audience on desktop alone.

Dive Insight:

For content producers, the new measurements should allow for a clear picture of their total reach. In turn, these numbers can help them attract marketers interested in getting in front of large digital video audiences and ensure ad revenue better reflects a content producer's influence.

Video is an increasingly important content type for marketers and much of video viewership now happens on mobile. YouTube, in particular, is a dominant platform for video marketing: Recent eMarketer forecasts predict YouTube's net U.S. video ad revenue could reach $2.59 billion in 2017, accounting for 20% of the U.S. total in the space.

The fact that 70% of YouTube viewership might happen on mobile devices is another clear signal that marketers need to be optimizing their content for smaller screens.

YouTube, for its part, has been making active efforts to better accommodate transparent, accurate advertising on its platform. Earlier this week, parent company Google enlisted the help of the Media Rating Council (MRC) to audit YouTube ad partners Moat, Integral Ad Science and DoubleVerify to validate their viewability measurements; YouTube also reportedly plans to ax intrusive formats like unskippple 30-second pre-roll spots.

ComScore has also been putting a premium on transparency and more finely tuned measurements for marketers. The firm recently received MRC accreditation for mobile viewable impressions and related viewability metrics across ad offerings.

"We're working hard to help our clients and the industry bridge the gaps that divide devices and platforms. Cross-platform ad verification — including mobile viewability — helps close one such gap," Dan Hess, executive vice president of products at comScore, said in a statement at the time.