IAB Tech Lab’s Advanced TV Commit Group Adds Industry Players To Develop Comprehensive TV Advertising Technical Standards

IAB Tech Lab has created its Advanced TV Commit Group, which will lead the development of technology frameworks, technical standards, and market strategy to make every TV environment addressable.

The Group aims to drive interoperability and standardization across the entire TV ecosystem. Inaugural members include:

• Extreme Reach
• Paramount
• EW Scripps
• NBCUniversal
• GroupM
• VAB
• Warner Bros. Discovery
• Xperi
• Publica
• Nielsen

Several other members are pending and expected to join the Commit Group imminently.

“What distinguishes the Advanced TV Commit Group from other initiatives is its comprehensive and collaborative approach to addressable TV advertising,” said Anthony Katsur, CEO of IAB Tech Lab. “The Advanced TV Commit Group aims to partner with various initiatives across the industry, bringing together all stakeholders to establish a portfolio of solutions. We are focused on developing technical framework(s) that ensures holistic reconciliation, a unified measurement framework, and consistent ad experiences across digital video and TV environments. This includes traditional linear environments like cable, satellite, and over-the-air broadcast, as well as emerging IP-enabled TV platforms, more commonly known as CTV.”

The Advanced TV initiative was launched in response to the rapid evolution of how consumers view video content and the increasingly blurred lines between Connected TV (CTV) and linear TV. The initiative aims to achieve the following objectives across all TV environments:

• Interoperability for frame-accurate ad delivery and ad break management to ensure consistent cross-platform ad break and ad slots signaling.
• Universal addressability and reconciliation for audience measurement across all screens.
• Complete cross-environment audit for advertising campaign delivery.
• Ad measurement for delivery and client-side viewability verification on the TV.
• Omni channel sales management for programmatic buying and selling of upfronts and spot buys.

Initially, the Advanced TV Commit Group will work toward deliverables in 2023 that establish a firm foundation for meeting the above objectives. Tasks such as standardizing interoperability across creative IDs and how metadata is used in systems that handle ad placement and measurement are mandatory for enabling an interoperable advertising market across all TV environments.

Katsur said: “With the right standards and technology frameworks in place, networks, broadcasters, MVPDs, and other video publishers can expand their addressable inventory and enhance their product offerings. This will create a strong foundation for buyers to reach their target audiences and accurately measure campaign results. The Advanced TV Commit Group is dedicated to driving the industry forward and setting new technical standards for addressable TV advertising through its commitment to interoperability, universal addressability, audit, and measurement. We invite all TV original equipment manufacturers and other interested parties to join the Advanced TV Commit Group and play a crucial role in achieving this goal.”