• by Wayne Friedman , Yesterday

OpenAP's U.S. joint industry committee (JIC), which is focused on new cross-platform media measurement standards for the TV industry, has offered a slightly mixed assessmentfor previous “certified” measurement providers -- Comscore, iSpot, and VideoAmp -- for the coming 2025-26 TV season.

The JIC notes that both Comscore and iSpot “provided thorough and clearly articulated answers across all question categories."

At the same time, VideoAmp “offered more limited detail in some responses, which reduced the audit team’s ability to fully evaluate certain areas of its methodology.”

Still, the JIC says all three providers showed improvements, meeting or exceeding JIC’s benchmark criteria.

Comscore now has the stamp of approval for "personified demographics deal types.” It did not provide data on digital networks.

The group says iSpot now has “strong overall performance across all test areas and is positioned as a leader in measurement stability and completeness.”

While VideoAmp shows good execution and data accuracy, it “is encouraged to strengthen its transparency, formatting consistency, and support for granular audience analysis” in certain areas. It adds that VideoAmp did not provide data on African American or Hispanic audiences.

Peter Ligouri, executive chairman of VideoAmp, said the JIC is going in the right direction.

In an email message to Television News Daily, he said: “The JIC accreditation serves as a reminder that uncertain times require higher, not lower standards.” This comes, he said, among media executives’ continued concerns over rising data “volatility.”

Ligouri added: “The talk in Cannes [Lions] centered around the volatility of Nielsen’s Big Data + Panel that led to several Nielsen crisis meetings with the VAB, publishers, holding companies and the MRC [Media Rating Council] as upfront forecasts deals are facing challenges with the live data. As we understand it, no brand advertisers were invited to this discussion. Who does that serve?”

Overall, the JIC group says this current measurement assessment means “each provider can support the current demands of a multi-currency ecosystem.” It touts that ‘this process represents a new standard of transparency and rigor in video currency validation.”

The JIC group -- which started up in January 2023 -- consists of representatives from media agencies, premium video programmers, streaming platforms, and trade groups.