Joint Industry Committee & Media Rating Council: Complementing the MRC to Bring Transparency on Transactional Readiness of Cross-Platform Solutions
A shift has materialized in how long-form video content is measured and analyzed. As new currencies have emerged, buyers and sellers need clarity on which currencies the other party believes is ready for transactional measurement across platforms, and standards must be established around transaction. The need for transparency around transactional readiness and controls on how measurement companies can safely access rich streaming data for cross-platform measurement led to the formation of the first Joint Industry Committee (JIC) in the U.S. in 2023.
The JIC joins other efforts in the market, such as the Media Rating Council (MRC), a historic regulator in the space. JIC certification and MRC accreditation are intended to complement each other, with the JIC creating needed foundational consensus among buyers and sellers on the baseline transactional requirements needed for commercial solutions to scale.
While the JIC is focused on evaluating the transactional readiness of national, cross-platform, measurement solutions, the MRC goes much further in conducting intensive audits of measurement methodology. The JIC’s goal is for measurement companies to hold both JIC certification as well as MRC accreditation. In fact, one of the key requirements for currency certification as defined by the JIC is that measurement companies offering a national linear and/or cross-platform currency solution be in active audit with the MRC.
Measurement companies with national cross-platform currency solutions for the TV market will – and have been over the last year – work with the JIC to establish a level of transactional readiness, as well as provide transparency into key privacy and data security concerns. Additionally, select measurement companies that do not offer a currency solution may be invited to participate in a “Streaming Data Certification Program,” which will be focused on validating privacy and data requirements established by JIC members that are necessary to gain access to the Streaming Data Service.
JIC-certified measurement companies will be given access to the forthcoming JIC Streaming Data Service. This will make accessible, in a privacy-centric way, incredibly valuable publisher streaming data to enhance cross-platform measurement solutions. After a measurement company’s cross-platform solution has been certified, the JIC will conduct an annual audit to ensure that currencies continue to maintain all aspects of the JIC’s requirements, including remaining active in the MRC audit process. Additionally, the JIC will collaborate with the MRC to ensure that the data coming out of the Streaming Data Service is as aligned with MRC standards as possible.
In bringing both buyers and sellers together over the last year to focus on currency transactability, the JIC has worked to establish a constructive and effective forum for educating both parties and bringing transparency to the shifting measurement landscape. There is undoubtedly continued change ahead for the video advertising ecosystem, for which the industry at large needs to prepare. Members of the Joint Industry Committee remain committed to moving with the speed and rigor being dictated by the marketplace to safely transition a multi-billion-dollar industry.
IT IS ULTIMATELY UP TO THE BUYER AND SELLER TO DETERMINE THE CURRENCIES ON WHICH THEY ARE WILLING TO TRANSACT. THE WORK THE JIC IS DOING TO BRING FORWARD A BASELINE FOR TRANSACTABILITY INCLUSIVE OF PRIVACY REQUIREMENTS IS VALUABLE TO ENABLE FIRST PARTY DATA IN TELEVISION MEASUREMENT.
- George W. Ivie, Executive Director and CEO of the Media Rating Council
A statement from Joint Industry Committee members, including: Agencies Dentsu, GroupM, Havas Media, Horizon Media, IPG Mediabrands, Omnicom Media Group, Publicis Media and RPA, in addition to national publishers A+E Networks, AMC Networks, FOX, Hallmark Media, NBCUniversal, Paramount, Scripps, TelevisaUnivision and Warner Bros Discovery, as well as the VAB and OpenAP.