Discovery Warner Bros has signed a deal with VideoAmp to measure its audience in its place source of knowledge for advertisers, the businesses announced Tuesday.
The deal is a significant moment for VideoAmp, a start-up ad measurement platform that recently expanded its client list ahead of this yr’s spring launch as TV networks scramble to secure long-term commitments from advertisers. Warner Bros. Discovery owns traditional TV networks and streaming services.
The deal also gives Warner Bros. Discovery is one other set of knowledge to offer advertisers because the industry considers alternatives to legacy measurement firm Nielsen, which has been put under the microscope through the Covid pandemic when questions have been raised about its measurement panels. Warner will use each Nielsen and VideoAmp.
Corporations like Nielsen and VideoAmp offer viewership estimations and data that TV networks and streamers use to sell slot machines. Nielsen’s measurement system is predicated on a panel of around 40,000 households to trace what they watch. VideoAmp bases its data on logins from devices. Other competitors on this space include Comscore in addition to startups like iSpot.television and Samba TV.
VideoAmp would not disclose the length of Warner’s contract, but founder and CEO Ross McCray told CNBC that his deals with the media giant and others are long-term. video amplifier also works with Disneywhich recently launched an ad-supported platform for Disney+ as well TelevisaUnivision.
“Especially with Warner’s investment in streaming and a portfolio of so many channels, WBD has a lot potential,” said McCray. “We intend to permit advertisers to package it as a cross-platform accordingly.”
The Discovery and Warner Media merger accomplished in 2022, bringing together a portfolio of TV networks including Discovery Channel, TLC, TNT, TBS and more. The combined company plans to launch a revamped streaming platform this spring, pairing Discovery+ with Warner’s HBO Max.
The corporate was also within the technique of cutting costs because it struggles with massive debt resulting from the merger. While WBD will proceed to make use of Nielsen’s metering services, the agreement with VideoAmp gives it a different set of knowledge and the potential for a less expensive, standalone alternative for the long run.
“Traditional media measurement has not kept pace with how consumers engage with streaming and linear content. As a result, these audiences have been undercounted and current measurements now not accurately reflect their true promoting value,” said Andrea Zapata, head of promoting sales at Warner Research, Measurements and Insights in a press release.
Nielsen has been blocking television viewership and rankings for a long time. Nonetheless, in response to media reports, the Nielsen metrics got here under scrutiny as concerns were raised about inaccuracies and irregularities of their measurements early within the pandemic.
Nielsen problems with undervaluation were revealed in 2020 and has since lost the accreditation of the Media Rating Council, an industry organization that verifies the measurement process. Nielsen’s MRC Status Stays Suspended in response to recent reports. VideoAmp, which was created in 2014, can also be not MRC accredited.
Despite these issues, Nielsen stays a measurement giant within the room, working with all major media corporations. Streamers also work with Nielsen. AmazonPrime TV uses Nielsen for its “Thursday Night Football” rankings. When Netflix launched its ad-supported level last yr, said its shows shall be rated by Nielsen starting in 2023.
That is a pivotal moment for the media industry as cable-cutting has recently accelerated and media corporations wish to make streaming profitable. Streaming services added cost-effective ad-supported options as subscriber growth slowed in 2022.
While it’s approx From 60 to 70 billion dollars a yr in US linear TV commercials, in response to Insider Intelligence, streaming ad revenue is steadily increasing. Ad revenue on streaming services is anticipated to exceed $21 billion in 2023, up from nearly $17 billion in 2022, in response to Insider Intelligence.
“We expect significant changes because there’s a demand,” McCray of VideoAmp said of the measurement industry.