AT&T, State Farm Will Test TV Measurement Alternatives in Discovery-Omnicom Pact
23.02.2022 - 18:49
/ variety.com
Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorAT&T and State Farm are the latest big advertisers to experiment with new ways of figuring out just who is watching TV – and the commercials that support it.The two marketers are among those who are taking part in an alliance between Discovery and Omnicom Media Group. Under the pact, a handful of Omnicom clients, including the telecom and insurance giants, will test new ways of tabulating linear TV audiences using Comscore and VideoAmp, and examine recent viewership data.
Discovery is also working with OMG clients from the automotive, retail and consumer-packaged goods sectors.“This is the precursor to what we hope will be, for some advertisers, for at least some of their money, to put it through an alternate currency for the 2022-2023 season,” says Jon Steinlauf, Discovery’s chief U.S. ad sales officer, in an interview.
Discovery is the latest media company to offer alternatives for measuring viewer activity of its programs as the longtime provider of such data, Nielsen, faces a prolonged bout of scrutiny. The TV networks and Nielsen have for months been locked in a public battle over how audiences ought to be measured.
Nielsen, which has acknowledged flaws in several of its systems, no longer has the accreditation of the Media Rating Council, an industry body that backs specific measurement methodologies. Meanwhile, the networks are eager to get counts of their streaming and mobile audiences.Discovery’s moves are not to be taken lightly.
The company, which operates Food Network, HGTV and Discovery Channel, among others, is expected over the next few weeks to take over WarnerMedia, giving it oversight of TNT, TBS and HBO Max, among other outlets. That acquisition will give Discovery more
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