NBC local TV group will no longer use ratings to sell ads

Big news: All NBC and Telemundo-owned local TV stations will begin measuring campaign performance with impressions rather than ratings.

Background: Advertisers have been using impressions to measure campaign performance for several years but had to convert everything back to age/gender ratings for pricing/reconciliation.

Two big opportunities for local TV from moving to impressions:
1) Sell more linear – Consistent measurement w/ all video advertising to maximize share of linear buy.

2) Sell more digital – Digital (CTV/OTT, etc.) inventory can be packaged with linear and sold to both traditional and digital media buyers.  Twice the demand = higher prices.

FYI: This will be a topic in my talk tomorrow at RampUp 

This move helps local TV with #1 and #3 since impressions are the preferred currency for digital video buyers.

TVB also announced that they are working w/ 800+ member stations to move toward impressions.

Quote from Perry Sook – CEO @ Nexstar Media Group:“By simplifying the way we evaluate media across platforms, we think we will enable local TV to be included more in the decision-making process”

Television news consumption, according to Pew:
1) Local – 37%
2) Cable – 28%
3) Network – 26%

Podcast: Local media’s last lover

More #1: No Standing Still For Lougee And Tegna

More #2: Survey: Local TV Station Execs Frustrated, Want Faster, Streamlined Ad Transaction

More #3: Streaming: Friend or Foe to Local Markets?

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