Execs Grade the TV Industry on How It Tackled Measurement

As part of Adweek’s Year in Review coverage, the television industry’s key movers and shakers have been reflecting on the past year. After TV’s top execs looked back on the most important thing they learned in 2021, and TV ad sales chiefs and buyers talked about how the marketplace evolved this year, we asked both groups to weigh in on one of the industry’s biggest challenges: measurement. This year saw Nielsen—which spent months facing off with networks over pandemic undercounting—get stripped of its third-party accreditation and several other companies, from rival measurement firms to the networks themselves, look to fill the gap. So how well did the industry do at addressing its measurement problems this year? Here’s what execs had to say: How did the industry fare at tackling its measurement issues this year compared to what you had expected? And what needs to be addressed first going into 2022? Dani Benowitz, U.S. president, Magna: The measurement issue didn’t necessarily get “tackled” but it is getting “addressed.” We have more questions than answers but conversations are now happening across both sides of the desk. What is really interesting is the challenge between how a campaign is measured vs. how it is traded. Frances Berwick, chairman, entertainment networks, NBCUniversal television and streaming: It seems like the broader industry is finally catching up to what we’ve been seeing for years: that overnight ratings are just one piece of the puzzle rather than the definitive barometer of success. Our sales team has been a leader in working to establish a new norm for advertisement measurement tools that put consumer behavior first while addressing the needs of a cross-platform portfolio. The current challenge on the content side is that most companies have their own proprietary system, which doesn’t allow for any accurate understanding of consumption across the industry. Geoffrey Calabrese, chief investment officer, Omnicom Media Group: We did a lot of talking as an industry about the problems we need to solve but ultimately the industry didn’t move as far as we needed to. Omnicom had to tackle measurement media partner by partner, and as a result we moved closer to some and farther away from others. The partners that are cooperating on measurement right now will see a larger share of spend in ‘22/’23. Media needs to be accountable and we think that currency testing with new third-party measurement partners will propel the industry forward faster for our clients. It’s not a bad thing to have competition with Nielsen. Nielsen’s National TV Service Is No Longer Accredited. What Happens Now? In 2022, we need to tackle identity and transparency for television that enables us to measure linear and CTV together. We pushed for CTV standards to bring CTV in line with client expectations and their desire to know where they are running across linear and CTV distribution. The client expectation is that CTV will deliver the same transparency, have the same controls and same safety as linear TV. David Campanelli, co-chief investment officer, Horizon Media: I do think this is one of the biggest stories of ’21. I believe we are on the verge of a tipping point in terms of measurement of video and the currencies we transact on moving forward. We haven’t made much progress yet, but the efforts have begun and I believe we’ll see significant changes in the next few years. What first needs to be addressed is what other measurement currencies exist that are valid and can serve and advertiser’s, agencies’ and seller’s needs in the way Nielsen does now. JP Colaco, president of ad sales, WarnerMedia: The decision by the MRC to remove Nielsen’s accreditation was a big one, but it underscored the inevitable: choice and diversification of measurement models is a mandate for the future. We applaud Nielsen for declaring it will improve the quality control around its measurement system. The industry is currently calling for alternative-measurement solutions, and between what WarnerMedia and others in the space are doing, you can see the industry shifting from demo to audience to outcomes. What we are moving towards is implementing an audience-based approach to inform media planning and buying, ensuring rigorous measurement and impact of investment is captured. In 2022, you will see panels used in tandem with other measurement solutions that give advertisers a more accurate picture of how their advertising investments are performing in order to account for outcomes-based action. Carrie Drinkwater, chief investment officer, Mediahub: The marketplace dynamics (too little supply and too much demand) facilitated the transition beyond age/sex/demo, as buyers needed to create/accept alternative solutions to secure inventory. I believe this is a positive shift for our business as there are strong viable metrics that can improve our client’s business beyond legacy Nielsen demos. Craig Erwich, president, Hulu originals and ABC Entertainment: We still have a long way to go to create a reliable method of capturing a truly holistic view of a show’s performance within the overall TV landscape. With multiple metrics and data sources, and inconsistent methods of tying them together, the measurement ecosystem has become quite complicated. The progress we’ve seen in recent months has been siloed, and as we look ahead to the new year, I think we would all like to see greater consistency in the gathering and reporting of data that captures the complete audience. Let’s be honest: stories that focus on overnight ratings are obsolete. Kathleen Finch, chief lifestyle brands officer, Discovery Inc.: You would think this would be an easy problem to fix, yet we still haven’t done it. We track every detail about consumer behavior, yet we can’t get accurate viewer data. In addition to the numbers, we also need to start honestly valuing the audience. 55-plus viewers have more spending power than ever, to the tune of $3.4 trillion annually, yet advertisers choose to pretend they don’t even exist. Marianne Gambelli, president, advertising sales, Fox Corp.: We are not where we need to be, but the fact that it’s moved to the forefront of the conversation, I believe, has helped push this initiative along. We need alignment across the industry and for measurement to reflect the total audience and value that media companies are delivering. We must come together and work with Nielsen, Comscore and other partners to invest and usher in a new era of media measurement that fully captures viewing across all screens and experiences. Kelly Kahl, president, CBS Entertainment: We were undercounted for much of 2020 and 2021, and still might be. Nielsen has suggested they are trying to resolve these issues, but there are certainly other options out there to capture the number of people watching our shows across all platforms. Perhaps somewhat ironically, we’re moving away from demos and going “back to the future"—counting and emphasizing total audience. Kim Kelleher, president of commercial revenue and partnerships, AMC Networks: The industry needs more transparency and checks and balances on measurement and data. The conversation has been humming in the background for years, it became a priority in 2021 and in 2022 we need to turn the debate into a trial. John Landgraf, chairman, FX: I still have a lot to learn about performance and measurement in the streaming space, both domestic and globally. 14 Top TV and Streaming Execs on the Most Important Thing They Learned in 2021 Wonya Lucas, president and CEO, Crown Media Family Networks: While measurement issues have been ongoing for over 30 years, the recent impact of the pandemic shows how fragile the measurement ecosystem is. This past year has been a challenge specifically with Nielsen, and to a lesser extent with other research companies. When the media industry first noticed inconsistencies in audience measurement, the issue was raised with the VAB and MRC—to which Crown Media belongs and contributes—in an effort to address the situation and hold Nielsen accountable for misreported data. So, from that perspective certain checks and balances have been instituted, which gives us confidence that we’re on the road to more accurate reporting in 2022. At the same time, Nielsen is no longer the only game in town; the industry, led by Viacom, NBCU and Warner Media, is increasingly embracing other measurement options that will compensate in those areas Nielsen is falling short. Looking forward to 2022, it’s critical that we holistically address the total viewing landscape and measure viewing of our content across all platforms. For example, our viewers consume our content on our three linear networks, our SVOD service and FAST channels (along with VOD, YouTube, DVD’s, etc.). While we get measurement results separately across our partners, calculating true unduplicated reach, as well as being able to understand the interaction of our viewers between platforms remains elusive. It is my hope that we can address this in 2022 and beyond. Farhad Massoudi, CEO and founder, Tubi: Without a doubt, the thing that needs to be addressed first going into 2022 is regaining confidence in the industry’s biggest measurement player. For their part, Nielsen has resumed in-home visits and put new systems in place for remote monitoring. Progress continues with advanced measurement for things like incremental reach from traditional TV campaigns, measurement of strategic audience reach, and attribution. But another critical thing that will need to be addressed is around people: the Great Resignation is leaving so many open positions across brands, agencies and media companies that the people needed to drive this progress will likely be a gating factor. At Tubi, one of our key strengths is our proprietary ad tech that allows us to move faster than the market, and we're proud to have won the Cynopsis award for outstanding advance in transparency for our Certified Measurement Program, and we’ll continue to grow our analytic capabilities into next year and beyond. Chris McCarthy, president and CEO, ViacomCBS media networks and MTV Entertainment Studios: Our top priority is meeting our audience wherever they are—we deploy our IP across a vast and growing ecosystem of SVOD, AVOD, linear and social—and this requires a holistic measurement of our passionate fans and franchises. By taking a 360 approach, we’re able to optimize our content, grow across every screen and develop metrics/KPIs such as “total minutes consumed” (TMC) to capture viewers across platforms. Dan McDermott, president of entertainment and AMC Studios, AMC Networks: Data and measurement are increasingly important in a fragmented world. We rely on our own insights about the ways in which viewers are engaging with our targeted streaming services, to supplement traditional viewership metrics and data sources. The days of single-source validation are clearly behind us, and that presents some challenges but also opportunities for an even closer and more customized view of what is happening. Peter Olsen, president, ad sales, A+E Networks: C+. We are still moving too slow as compared to how consumers are changing. We need a unified, industry wide approach so we have consistency and reliability when it comes to measurement. Mark Pedowitz, chairman and CEO, The CW: Given all of the ways that people consume content these days and where things stand on collectively measuring them all, it is safe to say we still have a ways to go before we get a uniform industry standard. First things first is to get all of the key players on the same page. Scott Rosenberg, svp and gm, platform business, Roku: The future of TV streaming is bringing the branding power of TV together with the data and performance of digital. Roku and the industry are enabling on a wide range of metrics for brands to measure and optimize against, whether that’s return on ad spend, in-store traffic, web visits or other actions. We’re excited about the progress in TV measurement for the biggest screen in the home. Jo Ann Ross, president and chief advertising revenue officer, domestic advertising sales, ViacomCBS: There were significant advances in the measurement space this year, but there’s definitely a ways to go. Gone are the days where a single data set makes sense to drive all TV commerce, especially in this multiplatform world we’re living in. We believe in a multicurrency future and we’re excited to continue to work with innovative companies who are bringing a new, more sophisticated approach to planning and measurement that will enable us to provide our advertising partners more choice based on their individual needs. Dave Sederbaum, evp, video investment, Dentsu: This is certainly the multibillion-dollar question on everyone’s mind. First and foremost, the issues we are facing aren’t new to 2021. That said, the collective focus that we are placing on the improvements needed are not only justified, but long overdue. Action is needed and I believe being taken. We all know that it will not happen overnight, and with the variety of perspectives from everyone involved, it will also not be uniform. That said, the greater goal of true cross screen measurement that focuses on strategic audiences and outcomes is the appropriate north star to focus on. We will do this by relying on stable, high fidelity, and quality data points. There are too many smart people with too much money on the line to get this wrong. I believe it is finally in our grasp and am genuinely excited to continue the journey forward. Rob Sharenow, president, programming, A+E Networks: The discourse around media measurement is not new, and certainly not resolved. But I think a more clear-eyed view of how to value linear audiences is emerging, particularly the older demo with more purchasing power. Despite being a time of incredible disruption, we also find ourselves in a time of incredible innovation—especially the ability to fuel decisions with data—so I think we’ll see some new or improved solutions that allow for a more accurate or otherwise meaningful account of audiences. Kristina Shepard, head of agency partnerships and national brand team lead, Roku: We have come a long way, but we still have more to do. In 2021, we launched a new measurement partnership with Nielsen to measure all four screens, we grew the Roku Measurement Partner Program to more than two dozen measurement providers, and we became the first TV streaming channel store to implement [IAB Tech Lab's] ads.txt to address transparency in TV streaming. In 2022, advertisers will focus on TV streaming partners that have a direct relationship with the consumer for more accurate targeting, optimization and attribution. TV Ad Sales Chiefs and Buyers on the Marketplace’s Biggest Changes in 2021 Donna Speciale, president of ad sales and marketing, Univision: There are a lot of things that need to be addressed in the measurement space, especially as the industry keeps close tabs on the situation with Nielsen. But the issue most important to us is the under-representation of minorities in media measurement. Right now, this is critical. As more and more companies are discussing alternative forms of currency to compete with traditional-TV ratings, they must remember that currency needs to measure everyone. Many times, we find that minority groups are an afterthought in this discussion. We cannot let that happen. To help solve for this issue, Univision is working with best-in-class partners like Google, Transunion and LiveRamp, to stand up the industry’s first Hispanic data graph. It will power Univision’s advanced solutions across the board, with the goal to seamlessly connect marketers across the entire Univision ecosystem —linear, digital, audio, local, etc. Furthermore, we continue partnering across the industry to use our data and expertise in broader ways to ensure that brands can accurately and appropriately account for the U.S. Hispanic audience in their current and future marketing plans. Jon Steinlauf, chief U.S. advertising sales officer, Discovery Inc.: In 2021, the industry at large took a big step forward by being open to new forms of measurement and currency but there is still work to be done. Nielsen remains the only option for age and gender demos, and as long as clients pay agencies on the basis of age/gender inflation, what will become the new prevailing currency? Too many financial relationships are tied to Nielsen on the client and agency side for this to be an uncomplicated fix but increasing choice and augmenting Nielsen's linear stronghold on measurement is a good first step. Additionally, networks, publishers, agencies and clients need to be ready to expand into currencies that include cross-platform measurement, data tools and attribution solutions. It is clear we need to move to a multiple currency world to truly provide bespoke-measurement solutions for all clients across multiple categories. Matt Sweeney, chief investment officer, GroupM: In some ways it was predictable, in others surprising. But an overall sense of concern remains due to the lack of coordination that is driving change. This industry has a variety of constituents, many entrenched, many challengers. That reality makes change difficult and slow, which was reinforced throughout 2021. We saw initiatives from measurement companies, startups and platforms drive new discussions, indicating a desire for faster change. And a number of media companies aggressively supported industry engagement on measurement alternatives. Both realities raise concerns: can the industry move swiftly and deliver scalable, industry-wide and interoperable long-term solutions? Or are we going to need to work through a period of ad-hoc solutions first? Rob Tuck, evp, national sales, The CW: I think a lot needs to be done in this business to figure out a measurement that is more accurate and reflective of the true audience across all our platforms. Until this happens, this business is going to continue to be challenged. Every network is trying to figure out what the right measurement should be and utilizing various research companies to help out. It’s important that it’s a measurement that works for all networks as well as both sides of this business. Brett Weitz, general manager, TBS, TNT and truTV: C+. We definitely need a better system for capturing total audience, long-term DVR usage and more transparency. Jana Winograde, president of entertainment, Showtime Networks: From the Showtime perspective, we have been building our own measurement platform since 2016 that co-exists with the measurement provided by industry players and provides multiple streams of data. Our hope for 2022 is to continue to build upon our data set to service our unique needs as an ad free, subscription streaming service that also has a linear platform. Linda Yaccarino, chairman, global advertising and partnerships, NBCUniversal: The momentum is real and encouraging. Every single media-holding company, top brands and trade bodies are coming to one table to explore and build together. The best part is that more than 100 measurement companies are saying they can be part of the new solution. (Additional reporting by Mollie Cahillane and Kelsey Sutton.)

Year in Review

Execs Grade the TV Industry on How It Tackled Measurement Problems This Year

Network presidents, buyers and ad sales chiefs weigh in on one of their biggest challenges

Jason Lynch

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