Dish Network said it has been partnering with comScore to measure the effectiveness of addressable advertising campaigns that span from linear satellite viewing on Hopper set-tops to Sling TV over-the-top watching on myriad devices.
Dish says comScore can deliver to its advanced advertising clients “apples-to-apples” metrics that factor in usage of the Sling TV virtual MVPD service across platforms and devices, along with standard linear set-top addressable metrics. Dish had been selling addressable advertising separately across both its linear and OTT platforms.
“Bringing Sling TV’s impressions into the measurement fold gives advertisers an apples-to-apples view of their campaign across platform, device and even alongside traditional TV,” said Adam Lowy, head of Sling TV advertising sales, in a statement. “We’ve partnered with comScore to offer advertisers a single, trusted metric to validate their campaigns and bridge these targeted, addressable TV impressions, regardless of where they run.”
RELATED: Sling TV now has more than 2M subscribers, comScore says
Dish has been selling addressable ads on its linear set-tops since 2012. And analysts estimate that the struggling satellite TV operator has around 2 million users signed up for its three-year-old Sling TV service, far more than any other virtual MVPD platform at this point.
As Dish’s linear satellite business has shrunk over the last year at a rate of nearly 8.7%, and the vMVPD has grown, media analysts have been sharply critical of Sling TV’s economics, which are built on the skinny foundation of a $20-a-month consumer price.
Dish, however, has contended that Sling’s advanced advertising capabilities, developed over time, will unleash new revenue potential.
Dish does not reveal how much it is making from addressable advertising right now. But comScore believes that, overall, addressable advertising revenue will grow by 66% this year to $1.3 billion.