NEW YORK—As the TV and streaming industries push for better measurement solutions, the U.S. Joint Industry Committee (JIC) has in the runup to the upfronts that Comscore and VideoAmp have been certified for transactability as national currencies. The certification came after a rigorous data evaluation as part of the final stage of its certification analysis, the group said.
This news marks a significant milestone in the push for better measurement solutions and comes just one year after media buyers and sellers came together following the formation of the U.S. JIC to author baseline requirements for new cross-platform solutions and to conduct a thorough analysis of new currencies via its inaugural Currency Certification.
Fox, NBCUniversal, Paramount, TelevisaUnivision, and Warner Bros. Discovery and the VAB, were among the national programmers backing the effort when it was launched in January of 2023.
"While the currencies and resulting deal structures are decided solely between buyers and sellers, we cannot drive lasting transformation of the industry individually – we need consensus, compromise, and a shared understanding across all parties to move this industry forward,” said Travis Scoles, senior vice president of advanced advertising at Paramount Global and chairman of the U.S. Joint Industry Committee's Board of Directors. “The collaboration over the last year to bring buyers and sellers to the same table to work in partnership with the measurement companies, who have dedicated an incredible amount of time, energy and resources to this process, is a testament to this industry's dedication to progress as we build a more sustainable measurement ecosystem for the future. We applaud the work of all measurement companies and encourage continued innovation as we scale.”
The JIC reported that following the Data Evaluation analysis and scoring process, a proposal on certification was made by the JIC's Measurement Subcommittee and a majority vote was reached among the Full Committee to grant overall certification to Comscore and VideoAmp as transactable national cross-platform solutions.
The JIC also reported that iSpot will maintain its conditional certification with a final decision expected to be made in the next certification window scheduled for June 2024.
As part of an effort to give transparency to the industry on its certification results and point-of-view on the state of new currencies in 2024, JIC members have also collaborated to publish "Guidelines for Transactability of National Cross-Platform Solutions".
Highlights of the report include:
- Recommendations Across Currency Use Cases: Each measurement company was evaluated on the overall basis of transactability and was further analyzed across Total Households, Audiences and Personified Demo use cases. Comscore and VideoAmp were found to be transactable across both traditional metrics (ACM/AMA) and cross-platform exact spot for Advanced Audiences and Households. While providers performed strongly for linear, the JIC determined improvements should be made to be transactable at scale for cross-platform Personified Demos based on the need to provide acceptable personified reach metrics, a core requirement outlined by media buyers.
- Cross-Platform Transactability: The JIC focused on assessing readiness of transitioning toward cross-platform transaction. The evaluation encompassed each solution's ability to support both historical metrics as well as the production of new cross-platform metrics. As the market begins to shift towards big data-led solutions, the JIC believes its forthcoming Streaming Data Service will further enrich all measurement solutions with publisher first-party data.
- The recommendations provided by the JIC follow its extensive analysis completed over the last year and are intended to give the industry a baseline standard for transactability, with the currencies used and deal structure determined solely by the negotiation between the buyer and seller of media.
The JIC also reported that currency providers were evaluated against a set of minimum requirements that are needed for all cross-platform solutions to be transactional, with buyers and sellers having an equal voice in defining the criteria around transactability. Certification comes upon completion of the Data Evaluation phase, in which JIC members conducted more than 670 tests to ensure the data produced was transactable across specific currency use cases.
JIC also noted that Certification status is granted on a two-year term. The two-year certification period will span the calendar year. January 2024 through the end of December 2025 is the first term.
Measurement companies will be up for recertification every two years. A mid-term audit will be conducted to ensure the JIC has transparency on any changes to methodology. The audit will take place in November of each year, with the first cycle being held in November 2024, for any new Currency of Record data. To further enable widespread adoption of new currencies, this timeframe will give JIC members the required time needed to evaluate and test new data to be prepared for and have confidence in the new data for planning in the following Upfront. Participation is required to maintain full certification status.
The next certification window for new companies and companies who want to re-apply will take place annually in June. All companies will be subject to this timeline; however, companies may petition for an off-cycle certification window that will be subject to approval via a vote by the JIC.
More information on the role and purpose of the JIC in the U.S. market is available here.
An overview of the certification process can also be found here.
