Starting this week, all local TV stations owned
by NBC and Telemundo will stop using traditional ratings points to measure campaign effectiveness, in favor of the cost-per-impression (CPM) method.
Nearly
all media except local TV and radio adopted the CPM model some time ago, points out Axios, which first reported the new policy for NBC/Telemundo local outlets, based
on obtaining an agency pitch document.
"Consumers no longer only watch TV in a traditional linear fashion -- rating points only measure linear television,"
the document states, according to Axios. "Local TV needs to measure video viewing across all platforms."
Using the “antiquated” ratings system has
made it harder for local TV stations to sell the digital audiences for their own website and app offerings along with their linear inventory, notes the report.
Further, media buyers have been unable to target people in remote areas that aren’t large enough to create a ratings point.
Kathy Doyle, executive vice president of local investment at Magna Global, is quoted as saying her agency appears to be the first to buy local broadcast on
impressions, and that most other agencies are planning to start doing so in 2020.
The “entire ecosystem” will follow once a few buyers shift to
this practice, notes Axios, which quotes Frank Comerford (above), chief revenue officer and president of commercial operations for NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations, calling this a “game
changer” for local TV.
"We need to do this, and should’ve done it a long time ago, but no one wanted to upset the apple cart,” he said. “But now, the risk isn’t
upsetting marketplace, it’s missing the marketplace."