• by Wayne Friedman , March 13, 2008

Starcom has put a line in the upfront sand: no precision metrics, no upfront deals.

In a press release, Starcom seems to be focusing on small cable networks and other media networks that are unrated. They don't use the national ratings data which Starcom has bought in the past. All that has changed.

"In prior years, standard industry practice has been to negotiate TV buys from unrated networks based on estimates from those networks and disparate sources.... As such, networks previously not listed in national ratings data that want to partner with Starcom's roster of advertiser clients must add a dimension of quantitative metrics data to their negotiations with the agency," read the statement.

Starcom executives didn't immediately return calls or email messages.

Last year, the agency says over one-quarter of the agency deals were done on an exact minute rating deals -- not average commercial minutes. A majority of upfront deals last year were made using commercial ratings, which are the average of commercial minutes.

Additionally, Starcom made one upfront deal last year on a second- by-second basis. It did not disclose details.

Starcom said its hard-line parameters come following research company TNS Media Intelligence's recent deal with DirecTV to get set-top box data, as well as Nielsen's announcement that it would provide set-top box data, combining its traditional panel methodology with more granular, quantitative data pulled from Charter L.A. homes.

"This 'pre-upfront pledge' to the market is yet another phase in Starcom's plan to lead the market in accountability and accuracy and provide an unparalleled advantage for its clients," said Starcom President/Chief Activation Officer Chris Boothe, in a statement.

While many media agency executives favor a more accurate measurement currency, other say the data isn't stable enough to yield consistent trends.