In a world where TV viewers switch from a TV screen to a mobile one in an instant, every second counts.
VideoAmp, one of a group of measurement companies that has worked with TV networks to devise measuring technologies that can serve as an alternative to Nielsen’s, is releasing a new product that will give advertisers and media companies the ability to examine viewership on a second-by-second basis.
With the new concept at their disposal, says Josh Chasin, VideoAmp’s chief measurability officer, advertisers might determine exactly which position in a commercial break would be the most advantageous to have, or discover whether having additional commercials in the same program drives more reach among viewers.
“You can get to average second or exact second, and you can know your actual spot delivery,” says Chasin, in an interview. “Maybe they owe you make-goods if you ran in the first minute and the don’t owe you make-goods if you ran in the last. It’s important.”
The introduction of the new counting mechanism is the latest push to get to more granular measurement of audiences for TV programs as the way people watch them is in flux. With TV audiences increasingly gravitating to streaming services and on-demand behaviors, advertisers have increasingly relied on new forms of data to make decisions about how to place commercials and determine how many people they reach and how often they ought to appear.
VideoAmp believes the technology could also benefit TV networks, giving them insight on the exact moments in a TV program or its commercial breaks that drive the biggest viewership.
The company, which has already worked with Paramount Global, TelevisaUnivision and units of Warner Bros. Discovery to provide new forms of audience measurement, tested its second-by-second technology with Paramount’s BET during that network’s 2022 BET Awards.
“Access to second-by-second level data gives BET a unique opportunity to hyper-target and pinpoint content that resonates with our audiences and drives success. Our teams utilized this transformative data to identify the most compelling program elements, such as show performances, commercials, host presentations, and more,” says Berj Kazanjian, senior vice president of ad sales research at BET, in a prepared statement. “These advanced metrics allow us to enhance our content, further our reach, and deepen our engagement with our community.”
VideoAmp’s Chasin expects the new technology will primarily be used to gauge linear TV audiences.
