Industry launches TV charter for “responsible and transparent” ad measurement

Malin Häger, president of egta and sales manager and chief commercial officer at TV4 Sales

The association of TV and radio sales houses egta has launched a “progressive TV Charter on television companies’ commitment towards the responsible and transparent measurement of advertising in the TV/video ecosystem.”

Launched with support by The Global TV Group, the charter has been signed by most of egta’s 155 member sales houses in over 42 countries, along with trade bodies such as Screenforce, Thinkboc, ThinkTV and the VAB.

As revealed to Digital TV Europe by an egta spokesperson, senior executives at egta member companies who have endorsed the charter include: Jan Isenbart, chief research officer at ARD Werbung AS&S; Jamie West, deputy managing director at Sky Media UK and group director of advanced advertising at Sky; Stéphane Coruble, managing director at RTL AdConnect (RTL Group); Colleen Fahey Rush, EVP, chief research officer, Viacom Media Networks; Jean Mongeau, general manager and chief revenue officer Media Solutions at CBC/ Radio-Canada; Guido Modenbach, managing director market intelligence at SevenOne Media; and Kavita Vazirani, EVP, insights and measurement at NBCUniversal.

A release from egta says that the charter “aims to raise the bar with regards to measurability, transparency of data and accountability and defines first-time measurement standards for the entire TV industry,” adding that it serves to remind advertisers that they must meet the brand safety demands as outlined in the Global Media Charter, published by the World Federation of Advertisers in 2018.

Malin Häger, President of egta and sales manager and chief commercial officer at TV4 Sales said: “In a fast-evolving media landscape characterised by changing viewing behaviour across screens and platforms, audience measurement too must evolve. As a growing amount of companies develop proprietary solutions in an attempt to solve part of the equation, it seems increasingly clear that the adoption of common industry guidelines is a much better option and that setting standards for viewability, transparency, accountability and data comparability is imperative to creating a level playing field.”

Jamie West, deputy managing director at Sky Media UK and group director of advanced advertising at Sky said: “To compete in this era of transformation and increasing digital competition, TV must evolve and adapt to the challenges of a multiscreen and cross-platform environment and in doing so, set the bar high when it comes to the measurability, transparency and accountability that marketers demand and deserve. If TV – with the premium content and brand-safe environment it provides – is to continue to deserve the recognition and loyalty of advertisers and marketers, it is vital that all players across Europe and across the globe adopt common principles. I support this TV Charter as it establishes simple standards that allow for comparability on a global level and creates a foundation for our industry to move forward together.”