TV measurement company iSpot has struck a deal with streaming analytics provider Conviva to integrate data into a unified cross-platform ratings product for currency that measures ads and programming together.
iSpot already measures linear, video on-demand, and time shifted viewing from broadcast and cable, but Conviva brings network streaming app programming data into the fold. The partners have already been working together since January 2022, when iSpot initially incorporated data from Conviva’s streaming pipeline for next-day cross-platform ratings.
Networks use Conviva for monitoring uptime on apps, inside of players, and more. With the new partnerships, the networks are providing iSpot the ability to integrate and verify that program viewership, allowing them to sell against an entire audience for given programming in a single, next-day view.
Conviva offers data provisioned by networks from their owned and operated apps and platforms. So for example, Peacock data from NBCUniversal would be brought together with iSpot’s data to measure both programming and ads. Data from Conviva is drawn from proprietary sensor-level technology that’s implemented across mobile, tablet, web and smart TV apps – with first-party de-duplicated content viewership data worked into iSpot’s Unified Measurement Platform. According to iSpot, content owners can easily authorize data from all of their streaming platforms and owned and operated web video players and have it delivered to iSpot 24-7.
iSpot said the team-up means the vendor can deliver complete cross-platform, advertising and program rating for the industry to verify person and household-level viewership trends, establish benchmarks and transact on as a P2+ or P18 or advanced audience-based currency.
“Conviva has proven it can deliver clean, accurate and contextualized streaming data at scale,” said Emily Wood, VP of Business Development at iSpot.tv, in the announcement. “This collaboration makes it easy for all our network partners to authorize their first-party streaming data for use in our currency products and beyond.”
NBCUniversal earlier this year tapped iSpot, first for ad measurement and currency tests at two major events including the Super Bowl and Olympics. Then in March said it would activate iSpot’s cross-platform audiences as its official currency for national ad buys at the 2022 Upfront. That came after industry complaints against Nielsen ratings, as noted by Deadline, which is currently working to regain industry TV ratings accreditation after it was suspended in 2021 for potentially inaccurate data.
With a multi-year deal already in place, NBCUniversal is one of the companies that will be utilizing the combined data from iSpot and Conviva.
“iSpot and Conviva’s collaboration has shown how to set a new bar for speed, accuracy and completeness,” said Kelly Abcarian, EVP for Measurement and Impact at NBCUniversal, in a statement. “We’re thrilled by the level of partnership for the benefit of the entire industry.”
As it makes more moves in the alternate currency and ad measurement space, iSpot has been bolstering its team – hiring over 100 new staff members so far this year. Most recently it nabbed Vizio Inscape exec Jodie McAfee, who last week joined iSpot as SVP of agency partnerships. In his new role McAfee is responsible for expanding iSpot’s relationships with advertising agencies and helping them integrate the vendor’s suite of measurement products for easier buying, planning and optimization.
He's also tasked with bolstering cross-platform measurement for iSpot’s verification tools, which ensure advertisers get accurately paid for ads delivered and detected on TV screens.
At the end of August, iSpot appointed U.S. Census Bureau veteran Will Waldron as VP of research to oversee the company’s Media Ratings Council accreditation process, with the first stage teed up for completion later this year.