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VideoAmp inks measurement deal with Warner Bros. Discovery

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Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Warner Bros. Discovery has struck a deal to use VideoAmp to measure its video content for its linear TV, streaming and digital properties.

Why it matters: The deal marks the latest big TV company to strike a measurement agreement with a vendor that's not Nielsen.

Details: The deal extends across Warner Bros. Discovery's portfolio. It follows a test-and-learn phase announced a year ago by VideoAmp and WarnerMedia, which has since merged with Discovery.

  • Ross McCray, founder and CEO of VideoAmp, tells Axios he believes VideoAmp's systems capture the "real value" of Warner Bros. Discovery by tracking across mediums.
  • "With our currency ... [media sellers] can package their entire assets, whether it be from traditional linear, from digital or from streaming all in one area," he says. "Then you can see the total reach of the entire portfolio whereas previously it's done in silos."
  • WBD executive Andrea Zapata said in a statement that legacy measurement systems undercount audiences.

State of play: Media companies are racing to establish relationships with new measurement vendors ahead of the 2023 Upfronts season in May, when advertisers reserve ad space with big media firms for the fall season.

  • Paramount offers VideoAmp as a currency.
  • Disney named Samba TV as a measurement partner in March. It also has been testing new measurement solutions with nearly 100 vendors for years.
  • NBCUniversal announced iSpot as a currency in March. It recently created The Currency Council, where top brands such as Marriott Bonvoy, PepsiCo and State Farm will transact on new currencies.

The big picture: Nielsen was considered the TV industry's most authoritative measurement vendor for decades, but the streaming era put more pressure on the company to modernize its systems.

  • The firm was dealt a major blow in 2021 when the Media Rating Council — the media industry's de-facto measurement watchdog — suspended an accreditation due to COVID-era measurement issues.
  • Still, Nielsen has remained competitive. Last year, it inked deals with Netflix and Amazon to measure their streaming efforts.

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