The U.S. Joint Industry Committee on TV measurement certified Comscore and VideoAmp as ready to be used as currencies when buying or selling national advertising.
The JIC has previously given VideoAmp and Comscore conditional certification as being currency grade.
The certification follows what the JIC calls a rigorous evaluation. During the Data Evaluation phase, JIC members conducted more than 670 tests to ensure the data produced was transactable across specific currency use cases.
The JIC has also published Guidelines for Transactability to give the industry more information on how new currencies can be used.
Last week, Comscore received accreditation from the Media Rating Council for its household level measurement of national and local audiences.
"Endorsements by both the MRC and the JIC underscores Comscore's adherence to rigorous standards of data integrity and precision. It offers broadcasters, advertisers, and media buyers a robust, validated tool for gauging audience engagement and media consumption," said Steve Bagdasarian, Chief Commercial Officer at Comscore.
"In an age when the planning and optimization of cross-platform campaigns is mission-critical, the JIC's certification of Comscore not only enhances its credibility but also reinforces the trust that industry stakeholders place in its metrics, setting a new benchmark for transparency and accountability in media measurement." Bagdasarian said.
The MRC and JIC have reached an accord on how JIC certification and MRC accreditation will offer coordinated by different assurances to media buyers and sellers.
Comscore and VideoAmp compete with Nielsen, the long-time leader in TV audience measurement. Nielsen said Tuesday it will make its panel plus big data ratings system its primary currency going into the 2024-25 upfronts. Nielsen is waiting for accreditation for adding big data to its diary based ratings system. It declined to participate in the JIC’s certification process.
Another Nielsen rival, iSpot, received conditional certification from the JIC last year. It remains conditionally certified, but the JIC says iSpot’s data submission was incomplete as iSpot makes changes to its methodology. A decision on certification is expected to be made in June.
Formed early last year by media seller, the JIC was been able to in short order getting buyers and measurement companies to buy in and define the type of measurement it needs and what it requires of measurement providers at a time when consumer habits are changing and video content is available on a growing number of platforms.
“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 VP 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,” Scoles said.
The JIC said that certification is granted on a two year term. The first term ends December 2025.
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.
