Fox, Turner and Viacom Open TV Measurement Standard

US media groups Fox Networks, Turner and Viacom have formed a consortium to develop a TV audience platform industry standard called OpenAP, for cross-publisher audience targeting and independent measurement.

The consortium describes OpenAP (open audience platform) as the television industry's 'first-ever' open audience platform, allowing consistently defined audience targets to be active across any member publisher. Agencies and advertisers can integrate the single platform with their own planning systems to activate advanced audience targeting and independent measurement within premium content. The trio - represented by Joe Marchese at Fox Networks Group, Donna Speciale at Turner, and Sean Moran at Viacom - will announce more information about OpenAP on Friday, April 7th.

In an open letter, the firms said of the launch: 'This means truly independent measurement and reporting by design, not just reactive third party verification. It means an open platform that supports industry-standard measurement sources and data, not just proprietary, walled-garden, self-governed reporting. It is consistent matching for an advertiser's custom first-party audiences in the development of cross-publisher media plans. We have never been more excited about the future of television and look forward to sharing more with all of you'.

Web sites: www.fox.com , www.turner.com and www.viacom.com .