CANNES — It is now more than half a year since NBCUniversal joined the alternative media measurement movement by tapping new-wave measurement provider iSpot.tv.

So what has been discovered so far?

In this video interview with Beet.TV, Sean Muller, Founder & CEO, iSpot.tv, lifts the lids on the main trend lines.

Test and learn

NBCUniversal picked iSpot.tv as its first cross-platform Certified Measurement Partner for cross-screen video, starting with a “test-and-learn” approach for the “alternative currency” with Publicis Media.

NBCUniversal Joins Alt-Currency Movement, Taps iSpot.tv For Next Upfront

Muller says: “We ran the largest, most aggressive test-and-learn in the industry of really showing a very large number of advertisers – 66 advertisers representing 160 brands – what it actually looks like to measure and to potentially transact on cross screen currencies.

“We gave them real-time reach and frequency measurement across linear and streaming. That was completely de-duped. It broke down all the different environments, because NBC doesn’t just have Peacock. They also have their content streaming on YouTube and on NFL and on many other digital sources, Hulu and others.

“We gave them very granular reporting of their linear and their streaming.

“We also even broke down the types of content that there were on linear versus versus streaming.”

Lean in for more

Muller says the findings are “pretty stark”:

  • “Most advertisers are still at that 10% or under mix of streaming versus linear.”
  • “But then there was a bucket of 10% to 20%, 20% to 30% and 30% to 40%.”
  • “The ones that were leaning in more were getting bigger, reach at a more optimal frequency and with less impressions.”

Muller says advertisers that push more of their budget into non-linear channels gain relatively more.

“That could be just driving up a lot of frequency and instead investing those in linear environments where they’re getting truly unique and incremental audiences add more optimal frequencies,” he says.

The takeaway, for Muller – “lean in”.


You are watching ‘The Mediaocean Retreat’, a Beet.TV Leadership Summit at Cannes Lions 2022.

For more videos from this series, please visit this page.

Beet.TV is an official partner of Cannes Lions.