U.S. Joint Industry Committee Awards iSpot Certification as National Currency
A rigorous review of iSpot’s new methodology signals transactional readiness across Personified Demos, Households and Audiences
The JIC shares its findings in the newly updated “Guidelines for Transactability” report
NEW YORK, AUGUST 13, 2024 -- The U.S. Joint Industry Committee (JIC) today announced that TV ad measurement company iSpot has been granted JIC Currency Certification. The news follows the JIC’s certification of Comscore and VideoAmp in April and demonstrates momentum and innovation of modern measurement solutions as the industry continues its transformation toward a streaming-first, data-informed future for TV advertising.
Certification has been granted to iSpot on the overall basis of transactability as a national currency. The JIC further evaluated iSpot’s next-generation methodology, iSpot Data Connect, and its analysis showed that iSpot’s data can be used for transactions across all currency classifications it evaluated, including Personified Demos, Total Households and Audiences across both Average Commercial Minute (ACM) and Exact Spot measurement. iSpot’s certification comes upon completion of the JIC’s data evaluation phase, in which JIC members conducted more than 270 tests to ensure the data produced met the baseline requirements around transparency, completeness, methodology checks and stability of data. Certification was then awarded following a majority vote by the Full Committee.
“If we are to meet the needs of advertisers who are racing to keep pace with today’s streaming-first viewer, we must continue to innovate, build and deliver more modern and accurate measurement solutions. The results from the JIC’s data evaluation show that iSpot is helping drive the industry forward as it has reached the baseline level of transactional readiness as a currency. We applaud iSpot, as well as all of our measurement partners, for their commitment and tireless effort building for the future,” said Travis Scoles, EVP of Advanced Advertising at Paramount Global and Chairman of the U.S. Joint Industry Committee’s Board of Directors.
To continue bringing clarity and transparency to the marketplace on the state of new currencies, the JIC has published an updated POV on the state of TV currencies in its 2024 “Guidelines for Transactability of National Cross-Platform Solutions”. The recommendations provided by the JIC follow its extensive analysis completed over the last year and are intended to give the industry a new standard, with the currencies used and deal structure determined solely by the negotiation between the buyer and seller of media.
NOTES TO EDITORS
Data Evaluation Overview
Currency providers are evaluated against a set of minimum requirements that are needed for all cross-platform solutions to be transactional, with buyers and sellers having an equal voice in defining the criteria around transactability.
The Data Evaluation consisted of three parts, including Data Evaluation Questions meant to provide context on data collection and coverage, reporting capabilities, audience deal types, data integrations and future plans; Campaign Evaluation which evaluated the ability to produce transactable cross-platform campaign data across a variety of advertiser categories and deal types; and Total Ad Supply, which also included a detailed analysis of Sports, to understand the ability to produce actuals across all reportable networks and generate reliable forecasts for consistency. All tests followed a standardized format, with the basis of analysis spanning Transparency, Completeness, Methodology Checks and Stability of Data.
JIC Currency Certification
Certification status is granted on a two-year term. The two-year certification period will span the calendar year. January 2024 through the end of December 2025 is the first term. Measurement companies will be up for recertification every two years. A mid-term audit will be conducted to ensure the JIC has transparency on any changes to methodology. The audit will occur in November of each year, with the first cycle being held in November 2024, for any new Currency of Record data. To further enable the widespread adoption of new currencies, this timeframe will give JIC members the required time needed to evaluate and test new data to be prepared for and have confidence in the new data for planning in the following Upfront. Participation is required to maintain full certification status.
For more information on the role and purpose of the JIC in the U.S. market, visit: https://www.usjointindustrycommittee.com/news/jic-statement-mrc. An overview of the certification process can also be found here: https://www.usjointindustrycommittee.com/currency-certification.
ABOUT THE U.S. JOINT INDUSTRY COMMITTEE
The U.S. Joint Industry Committee (JIC) was created in January 2023 as a collaborative forum for both media buyers and video suppliers to work together to define a more sustainable model for long-form video measurement. Its initial charter is focused on evaluating the readiness of new currencies and enriching measurement with valuable first-party data through a streaming data solution built by OpenAP. By defining common standards around cross-platform measurement, it seeks to enable more accurate measurement of today’s modern consumer.
