**Update 4/14/22: After this story was published, Comcast reached out with additional perspective on the topic. See Comcast's comment at the bottom of this story.
Comcast’s advertising sales division — Effectv — is going to expand its relationship with Comscore. Effectv will use Comscore’s audience impression-based measurement product with local advertising clients.
The collaboration follows Comscore’s 2020 agreement with Comcast to integrate aggregated Comcast viewing data into its local and national measurement services.
“With local media emerging as a key channel for brands due to its consumer relevancy and proximity to point of purchase, there is a need for proven, more reliable approaches to measurement,” said Bill Livek, CEO of Comscore, in a statement.
Asked if this expanded relationship between Effectv and Comscore had anything to do with all the troubles Nielsen has been having, TV[R]EV analyst Alan Wolk said, “The problem generally is that with local advertising and smaller local markets Nielsen didn’t have enough people in its panels to give accurate results.”
He said in the last couple of years Nielsen, itself, has been emulating Comscore’s technology for viewer measurement in local markets.
“The pace of change in media measurement continues to accelerate, and advertisers today are seeking new solutions and capabilities to better understand consumer behavior and to reach and engage with them across multiple screens and devices,” said James Rooke, general manager of Effectv, in a statement.
Comcast’s announcement also comes as the industry continues to reevaluate the media measurement landscape. Effectv joins other media organizations, such as Paramount, Fox Corporation, WarnerMedia, Discovery, Disney, Spectrum Reach and OpenAP in adding Comscore as currency.
Set-tops
Wolk said for many years, Comcast had tried to make its own set-top box data as currency for advertisers and marketers. But Comcast is not national, and that was a problem for advertisers who needed national ratings.
Now, set-top boxes in general are being sunset. Even Comcast now has a Comcast-branded smart TV. “The assumption being in 10 years, everything will be delivered via streaming,” said Wolk. “While set-top box data in 2022 is still a strong and valid measurement, it’s sort of fading.”
For its part, Comscore uses set-top box data, but it also has diverse measuring techniques and can evaluate media across platforms with a data footprint that combines digital, linear TV and over-the-top.
**4/14/22 Comment from Comcast:
Yesterday’s Comscore/Effectv news highlights the fact that measurement needs to keep up with changing viewership behaviors, Carmela Fournier, VP & GM of Data at Comcast Advertising, says, “Advertisers need measurement providers to solve for the shift away from buying content based on broad, age-gender demos to buying advanced audiences across a single campaign goal.”
She added that Comcast’s overall measurement philosophy is that greater choice and innovation help fuel a healthy ecosystem. “This announcement is about adding Comscore as a measurement currency provider for Effectv campaigns. From an industry perspective, we want to be able to support buyers who want to use Comscore as their preferred measurement provider.”