• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, April 15, 2025

Eight years ago, the major broadcast networks saw the writing on the wall that the future of audience measurement would not be survey-based research, but big, empirical data on what, when, where and why people watch television, and they launched OpenAP -- a privately held entity -- to pool the data they collect, own and would use to sell advertising to big brands and agencies in the future.

During an upfront presentation this morning, that entity will unveil a new “converged” solution it says will standardize people’s identity data across the streaming video marketplace.

OpenAP has been working on its so-called “Open Identity” solution for several years, and previously announced a “first-mover” deal with IPG Mediabrands’ Magna unit to integrate consumer profile data from Interpublic’s Acxiom division into it.

This morning, it announced it has added deals with other big consumer data and identity providers -- DeepSync, Experian, LiveRamp and TransUnion -- to the mix in what it now says is a “federated” approach that “seamlessly enables direct matching of multiple identity data sources across publishers, advertisers and data providers without requiring a central identity spine.”

Significantly, OpenAP set up the “pipes” that will enable the data exchange utilizing cleanroom technology created by Snowflake.

OpenAP says more data partners will be announced soon, as well as publishing partners, but that the important takeaway is that its Open Identity solution will serve as means of standardizing the identity data of consumers streaming video around a common, unique identifier without the need for a central “identity spine.”

“Open Identity aims to increase on-target reach of streaming and cross-platform campaigns by standardizing workflow so that identity is resolved consistently as it traverses across identity spaces,” it states, adding that it will give “advertisers and publishers the ability to define and control how identity data is used from audience creation through to measurement.”

The move comes as big agencies and measurement providers are building or acquiring their own identity solutions to ensure they have the best fidelity on what consumers are doing. Most of the big cross-platform measurement providers have already moved to Big Data-plus panel models, and the Association of National Advertisers is poised to rollout a beta test of its own cross-platform measurement solution, Aquila, putting the power of identity resolution directly in the hands of advertisers.

WPP recently announced the purchase of one of the highest-profile data cleanrooms -- InfoSum -- and is integrating it directly into its GroupM media planning and buying operations.

One thing OpenAP is not 100% open about is what its business relationships are with each of its data partners.

“We are jointly owned by four publishers (Fox, NBCUniversal, Paramount and Warner Bros Discovery),” CMO Brittany Slattery acknowledged in an email at presstime, adding: “OpenAP has separate commercial relationships with a long list of publishers spanning Linear and Digital (i.e. OEM and streaming) endpoints, and we can distribute audiences to any publisher even if they are not at an equity level, so long as we have a business agreement in place.”

She declined to say exactly how those agreements work, other than that OpenAP no longer works as a “membership” model.

“What I can say is that Open Identity sets up the federated pipes for companies to do identity syncs between each other for various use cases and also establishes identity protocols to ensure consistency on campaigns.

“We don't govern how the companies will agree to work with each other. For example, Partner A may require a license to partner B's data before they authorize an ID sync or matching.”