The way advertisers think about TV is changing as it shifts from linear to ad-supported streaming. Here are three developments shaping TV ad measurement, streaming behaviors, and consumer targeting.
1. Nielsen has regained its accreditation
The Media Rating Council (MRC) announced last week that Nielsen regained its approval, making Nielsen the sole currency provider with an MRC-accredited service as we enter this year’s upfronts.
“One of the potential beneficiaries of the post-Nielsen era will be Nielsen,” our analyst Paul Verna said on a recent episode of our “Behind the Numbers” podcast. “By that I mean that Nielsen was really not out of the running at any point as a currency, even though the loss of accreditation spawned this sort of arms race of other providers for alternative currency.”
While this news is significant, Nielsen declined to work with the Joint Industry Commission’s certification program.
“This reinstatement only applies to one of the many services Nielsen is offering,” said Verna. “But overall, it indicates that Nielsen is still in the game.”
2. Netflix fumbles live
The streamer blundered its second live event, a “Love Is Blind” reunion special, which left fans disappointed.
“[Netflix] needs to step out of its comfort zone to generate new revenue streams, and live programming is one of them,” said Verna. “It’s also one that they have famously dismissed in the past, only to now consider it and test it. So the fact that they failed in their second attempt is not great news for them.”
Netflix posted mixed earnings last week, with revenues of $8.16 billion falling slightly below expectations of $8.18 billion. The company hopes a crackdown on password sharing later this year will boost revenues.
According to Verna, the live programming failure won’t weigh too heavily on Netflix. “This is a stumble, but they will overcome it.”
3. CTV partners with retail media
Instacart and Roku announced a streaming and delivery partnership this week, part of an ongoing trend of connected TV (CTV) merging with retail media.
The Kroger Co. and The Walt Disney Co. have an advertising deal. Albertsons Companies is in business with Omnicom Media Group. Walmart is working with Roku, TikTok, and Snap. And Amazon is working with, well, Amazon to match retail media’s high-quality data with CTV’s top-of-funnel potential.
It makes sense: CTV is the fastest-growing major ad format in the US this year. But it’s not the biggest retail media player. CTV will account for just 13.0% of all retail media’s display ad spend come 2027.
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