• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, December 19, 2013

Heading into 2014, online publishers and their video vendors are doing everything in their power to steer more TV dollars in their direction.
 
To that end, video ad manager FreeWheel plans to integrate comScore validation measures into its offerings by the first quarter of the New Year.
 
The addition of comScore validated Campaign Essentials (vCE) and validated Media Essentials (vME) into FreeWheel’s Ratings Based Planning service is designed to give clients a clearer picture of their video buys in relation to their TV buys.
 
“Simply put, our tools and data partnerships make it easier for TV networks to execute and measure video advertising buys with linear-like measurements throughout the media-planning cycle,” stated Doug Knopper, co-founder and co-CEO at FreeWheel.
 
Specifically, clients should be able to tag video content across all digital screens -- including mobile phones, tablets, set-top boxes and gaming consoles -- for reporting within FreeWheel and comScore Audience Analytics services.
 
With the help of comScore, FreeWheel is also promising better management of video campaigns in real-time and more accurate inventory management forecasting models.
 
FreeWheel's clients include ABC, AOL, DirecTV, ESPN, NBC Universal, Sky, Turner and Viacom.
 
Giving hope to online publishers everywhere, authenticated video viewing grew 217% over the past year -- and now comprises 14% of all ad views on long-form content, FreeWheel reported earlier this month.
 
Clearly, the finding is “an indication that TV Everywhere is becoming a reality,” Brian Dutt, manager of advisory services at FreeWheel, told Online Media Daily at the time.
 
“Over time, we expect that this will drive increased monetization of half-hour and hour-long TV programs (as well as live streams) across all screens,” Dutt said. As such, the content mix is continuing to evolve with long-form growing most quickly (56%), led by scripted drama and sports.
 
The data set used for its report was comprised of over 15 billion video ad views, according to the online video technology firm.
 
Late this year, the industry also achieved a 1:1 ratio between ad views and video views -- which, according to Dutt, indicates that monetization is finally catching up with viewing behavior. The trend is being driven by 56% year-over-year growth in long-form content, with the continued movement of long-form titles into IP environments.
 
Digital pure-play publishers are utilizing pre-rolls on a larger percentage of short-form content -- up to 45% from 35% last year, according to FreeWheel.