IAB Updates Digital Video Ad Measurement Guidelines

In New York, the Media Rating Council (MRC) and the IAB have announced the release of an updated version of their Digital Video Ad Impression Measurement Guidelines.

The newly version, authored by MRC in consultation with the IAB Tech Lab's Modernizing Measurement Task Force, update the requirements for counting video ad impressions in a number of respects. MRC says not only are video ad counting practices now more fully aligned with those for digital display ads, but the document gives more attention to video-specific issues that have become more prevalent as the digital video ad ecosystem has evolved in recent years.

Among these is new guidance for measuring ad serving that utilizes Server-Side Ad Insertion (SSAI) or Server-to-Server measurement approaches; consideration of progressive download and adaptive bitrate streaming implementations; and addressing video ads that appear in Over-the-Top (OTT) environments. Among the OTT-related concerns highlighted in these guidelines are issues around measurement inactivity, continuous play measurement and reporting, 'TV Off' measurement, and OTT-specific inactivity rules and invalid traffic considerations. The revised guidelines also more fully address auto-play and forced duration disclosures.

MRC will allow a one-year grace period for currently accredited measurement services to achieve compliance with these new guidelines, after which the new requirements will be considered mandatory to maintain MRC accreditation. George Ivie, MRC's Executive Director and CEO, comments: 'These updated guidelines are now equipped to address some critical issues in today's video environments. Among these, the new guidance on OTT platform measurement will better enable us to validate and accredit quality measurement in that rapidly emerging space'.

The new guidelines can be found at: https://bit.ly/2KuYsgQ .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.