- January 27, 2015

Solving the Multi-Platform Video Measurement Challenge

Technological innovation occurs rapidly, and consumers have always been quick to adapt. One area this is especially true is digital video, as mass adoption of smartphones and tablets, combined with faster 4G internet speeds have fueled explosive growth. Predictably, consumers have altered their TV viewing habits to reap the benefits of increased content options and the convenience of watching video anywhere.

But, what’s great for the consumer has proven a challenge for the media industry, particularly in terms of measuring digital video audiences across multiple platforms. Refining existing methodologies to accurately account for person-centric digital video consumption across screens, has proven to be a formidable yet worthy challenge. Because measurement of digital video lagged behind the shift in consumer habits, real marketing dollars have been at stake. The issues have only become more pronounced in the past year – we’ve seen clear evidence of linear TV audiences begin to deteriorate as consumers shift their viewing to other platforms.

Introducing Comscore Video Metrix Multi-Platform

Fortunately, we have been working diligently to address these challenges, and the good news is that multi-platform digital video measurement is officially here! Comscore recently announced the beta launch of Comscore Video Metrix® Multi-Platform the media industry’s first syndicated measurement solution that provides unduplicated video audience reach and engagement across multiple platforms – desktop, smartphone, tablet and over-the-top (OTT) devices such as Smart-TV’s, Roku’s, X-Box’s etc.

Benefits for our clients

Content owners can now get credit for video audiences that are not currently being counted, making ad inventory easier to monetize. They can also sell more effectively by creating cross-platform ad packages with higher reach while advertisers and agencies can plan and purchase digital video using TV-like GRPs.

Among the clients already participating in measurement for Video Metrix Multi-Platform, we have seen some gain credit for their previously unmeasured audiences resulting in 10%, 30%, even 50% increases above their desktop-only video audiences. Their total video streams, and engagement in some cases, have more than doubled when accounting for mobile and OTT platforms. Initial Video Metrix Multi-Platform data has revealed that:

User engagement is high on OTT:

  • More than 8 million Sony Crackle videos were watched on over-the-top devices in November, representing 16% of all streams across all Sony Crackle platforms (non-inclusive of YouTube).
  • Sony Crackle users spend almost twice the amount of time on OTT devices compared to desktop.

This trend is also true for smartphone and tablet engagement:

  • Sony Crackle viewers are watching nearly 15 videos per month on mobile (smartphone and tablet), which is almost triple the engagement as desktop.
  • Additionally, we have found that PBS viewers on tablet spend 4 hours and 15 minutes watching video on the network per month, which is more than 5 times that of PBS’ average desktop viewer and nearly twice as much as its average smartphone viewer.

These audiences and impressions represent real dollars for high-value inventory. We are excited about the revenue potential that Video Metrix Multi-Platform will unlock for marketers and media companies alike, and delivering the product was no small feat. It represents the culmination of multiple years of R&D in developing and implementing our multi-platform methodology, which leverages several of Comscore’s unique digital measurement assets. Video Metrix Multi-Platform is an important first step toward delivering a true Total Video solution that will ultimately account for video viewing across all platforms, including linear TV.

For clients interested in participating in measurement under Video Metrix Multi-Platform, or if you have any questions, please: CONTACT US