The television landscape has undergone a dramatic transformation over the past decade, with consumption behaviors shifting and the ecosystem becoming increasingly fragmented and complex. As the availability of big TV datasets continues to grow, the measurement landscape has become more diverse, with multiple vendors offering different data sets, methodologies, and outputs. In a new paper released by the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM), industry experts Josh Chasin and Albert Lau delve into the methodological challenges facing big data-based currency-grade measurement providers and provide guidance on how to effectively evaluate and address these issues.

Unlocking the Potential of Big Data-Driven TV Measurement

Navigating the Fragmented TV Marketplace

The US TV and video marketplace has become increasingly fragmented and complex, presenting significant challenges for measurement and currency across different platforms and devices. Measurement vendors are working diligently to address these challenges, but there is a need for greater collaboration and cooperation within the industry to support their efforts.

Identifying Key Methodological Challenges

The study conducted by Chasin and Lau, titled "Solving Today's Evolving TV Measurement Puzzle," identifies six critical methodological challenges faced by big-data measurement providers:1. Assessing the impact of identity2. Addressing footprint coverage bias3. Onboarding, cleansing, and combining of big data assets4. Metadata management5. Integrating linear and digital streaming6. Processes and methods for addressing coverage gaps and shortfalls

Driving Alignment and Collaboration

To address these challenges, Chasin and Lau recommend a collective and collaborative approach that brings together the entire TV measurement ecosystem. This includes aligning on the future of identity and the scoring and validation of identities, conducting personification research to remediate the delay in migration to alternative currencies for demographic transactions, establishing a single industry-accepted source and taxonomy to mitigate variations in metadata, and creating codified standards for ACR-based Smart TV data.

Empowering Measurement Customers

In today's alternative currency and measurement marketplace, it is essential for measurement customers to not only understand the new quality parameters but also to actively participate in the assessment and due diligence required to potentially onboard any viewership metric that would impact day-to-day business functions. With no set industry standards or requirements, measurement customers must be involved in the process to ensure consistency, projectability, and interoperability.

Embracing a Holistic Approach

The future of TV measurement requires a holistic approach that involves all key stakeholders, including publishers, networks, agencies, researchers, and marketers. By working together, the industry can develop shared assets, codify the most effective practices, and implement industry initiatives that can stabilize and address the pressing measurement challenges faced today.