Hearst TV Commits To Impressions Selling

Hearst Television said today that its stations — which span 39 states — will immediately begin transacting advertising-sales agreements based on audience impressions, a metric reflecting a program’s viewer numbers and the sole common audience-measurement currency now applied across all video-viewing platforms.

The company said use of impressions “will simplify the collective buying of various video advertising offerings. Sellers will be better positioned to offer buyers an advertising schedule that encompasses all platforms and pathways of video consumption and advertising — including live, linear and time-shifted viewing; over-the-top (OTT) and other digital advertising; and addressable advertising using cable set-tops and smart TVs.”

Additionally, Hearst said, “this change increases the opportunity for television companies to provide inventory into widely used programmatic digital-advertising platforms and to participate more seamlessly in cross-market, regional and ‘unwired network’ ad campaigns.”

“We have always focused on providing large, quality audiences to our advertisers,” said Jordan Wertlieb, Hearst Television’s president. “Today’s video marketplace requires contemporary measurement metrics.”

“This is without question one of the most dynamic times in the history of our industry,” said Eric Meyrowitz, Hearst Television SVP, sales. “Helping facilitate a change that ultimately allows for easier transaction across multiple platforms is something we are excited and eager to be a part of.”

The decision coincides with an effort by the Television Bureau of Advertising announced this morning to continue the modernization of television audience-measurement and advertising-sales practices for the benefit of advertisers and agencies and to reflect today’s realities about video consumption.

The NBC and Telemundo owned station group began using impressions-based measurement to sell ads earlier this month. Frank Comerford, chief revenue officer and president of commercial operations for NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations, said: “As the local TV ad sales business evolves, and as audiences’ consumption habits change, so must the metrics we use to give marketers and advertisers measurement. As of Sept. 9, all NBC and Telemundo owned stations started using impressions to measure an ad campaign’s effectiveness. This is a game-changer for local.”