• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, June 14, 2007

With the national TV marketplace still torn over the proper role of Nielsen's new, unaccredited commercial ratings in this year's upfront advertising deals, a cross-industry task force organized by the Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau held its first meeting this week, yielding little consensus, but agreeing to continue the process. The meeting, which included about 30 agency, cable and broadcast executives did agree to form subcommittees to address various issues surrounding the contentious, new ratings, and at least one participant described the outcome as a nebulous "roadmap" for how to move ahead.

However the so-called Commercial Ratings Commission (CRC) moves ahead, the marketplace already is - with mixed results. On Wednesday, GroupM and NBC Universal announced the first publicly disclosed upfront advertising deal of the season based on guarantees to GroupM's clients that include average commercial minutes with up to three-days of DVR playback data included. Others, like Horizon Media said they are digging in their heels to strike "live only" deals (see related stories in today's edition).

The CRC, which was formed last month by the CAB, ostensibly has no interest in wading into the hot-button issues of the merits and accuracy of commercial ratings, but is operating under the assumption that they will soon become the dominant currency, and wants to find agreed-upon standards that will allow transactions to be processed with them.

The need comes from the potential upheaval the commercial ratings could cause both buyers and sellers in their back-office deal-tracking systems, which for years have functioned based on the traditional "program ratings" metrics. In a statement when the CRC was formed, CAB chief Sean Cunningham said the new data "could overwhelm existing systems and in doing so offset any advantages found in what many believe could be a more accurate measurement system."

The CRC subcommittees expected to be formed as a first step would delve into complicated issues such as how software and technology would be employed and synchronized; how networks and agencies can best execute deals; and how to work with parties such as ratings-provider Nielsen and Donovan Data Systems (which provides systems for agencies to conduct transactions), among other vendors in those areas.

On Monday, no timetable was set for another meeting, although members are looking toward later this summer, the source said. And there is no ballpark for when--assuming it does occur--any consensus on implementation would emerge.

A CAB representative declined comment.

The CRC makeup is still evolving. but includes top buy-side executives such as GroupM's Marc Goldstein, chair of the American Association of Advertising Agencies' (AAAA) Media Policy Committee, and Carat's Andy Donchin, chair of the AAAAs TV/Radio committee, as well as leading sell-siders such as Ed Erhardt, president of sales at ESPN and the CAB chair and Dave Cassaro, the sales head at Comcast networks. ANA CEO Robert Liodice is also a member and early supporter, as is George Ivie, executive director of the Media Rating Council.

ABC and NBC executives attended Monday's meeting. It's unclear what those networks' eventual involvement will be, as well as whether Fox, CBS or the CW will attend future meetings, but broadcast networks are expected to be on board. Since it's a CAB-led initiative, a slew of sales executives from top cable networks are participants. A representative from the syndication trade group SNTA attended the meeting, but the organization appears to have reservations about continued involvement.

Also at the meeting, which took place Monday morning, were representatives from Nielsen and Donovan, but other measurement and transaction companies will eventually be invited, partly to avoid anti-trust issues. The CAB is providing anti-trust counsel via firm Proskauer Rose, according to a CAB document.

The CRC also is expected to evaluate the value of using measurement data provided by companies such as TiVo, which offers second-by-second ratings, and a new partnership between Google and EchoStar, according to the CAB document.