Nielsen To Measure YouTube, YouTube TV Ad Inventory On Connected TV Sets

by Wayne Friedman , October 15, 2020

The growth of video streaming of all types is now an impetus for Nielsen to add new measurement for YouTube and YouTube TV when it comes to the video-site advertising inventory on connected TV platforms.

YouTube’s streaming TV inventory will be measured in Nielsen’s Digital Ad Ratings and Total Ad Ratings.

Nielsen had been measuring YouTube and YouTube TV advertising inventory for PCs and laptop computers and mobile devices.

Nielsen says this builds on its expanding advanced TV service, which includes addressable TV measurement.

Measurement for YouTube and YouTube TV on U.S. connected TVs will start in the first half of 2021 -- first with YouTube TV, the virtual pay TV service of live linear TV networks, and then with the YouTube app.

Nielsen says this measurement will be fully in effect ahead of the 2021-2022 TV upfront advertising selling season that starts in late May.

Nielsen says measurement of YouTube and YouTube TV is important, since over 100 million people in the U.S. watch YouTube content on connected TVs every month. It notes that advertisers and media agency executives have been asking for third-party partners to measure YouTube and YouTube TV audiences this way.

YouTube accounts for 20% of all streaming usage in the U.S., according to Nielsen. More than three-quarters of U.S. homes own one or more connected devices, with streaming accounting for 25% of total TV usage.

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4 comments about "Nielsen To Measure YouTube, YouTube TV Ad Inventory On Connected TV Sets".

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Ed Papazian from Media Dynamics Inc, October 15, 2020 at 10:31 a.m.
Finally---a sign of progress.
Reply

John Grono from GAP Research, October 15, 2020 at 6:29 p.m.

One thing to note is that these are not 'Content Ratings' but 'Ad Ratings'.

We have been using DAR for online ads (i.e. not CTV specific) for quite some time. Why the difference? Because the video ads are tagged with a unique code by the advertiser/agency/SSP etc. so that it can be tracked. Tracking content (i.e. programmes) seems to be incomplete due to a lack of universality of content identification data.

Ed Papazian from Media Dynamics Inc, October 15, 2020 at 8:17 p.m.

Good point, John. So how will Nielsen tally a YouTube ad's "audience"? Will the ad need to be on the screen for at least half of its duration---or all of its duration ---or only two seconds---per the unacceptable IAB "exposure" definition? And how will any of these options compare with "average commercial minute" ratings for TV---which are not ad-specific?No doubt we will soon have an answer to these questions---or will we?

John Grono from GAP Research, October 15, 2020 at 8:35 p.m.

A good question Ed.

With our DAR it is 2 seconds'exposure' on mobile devices, laptops and desktops. It is a binary Y/N threshold based system and not duration weighted. Though given that many online ads are 6-seconds a 2-second threshold is less mislesading than on linear TV. In order to have duration weighted the unique code would need to include ad-duration data that is populated.

We don't have the CTV element in our TV ratings (at this stage). TV ratings currently depend on audio matching to a time-based reference file of linear broadcasts. So an internet-delivered ad would just go in to the 'Other Usage' bucket. That is unless there is a way to match to an ad-based reference audio file (if you don't register you won't be matched). There would be a (small) problem of different video supers over the same creative and audio (e.g. 'Only available at the Upper Kumbukta West outlet') that are technically different ads with different key numbers.