NBCUniversal is adding VideoAmp as a currency option for cross-platform advanced audience measurement and expanding iSpot.tv’s prior status as a currency provider for demographic buys to include advanced audiences, the media company is announcing today at its One23 developer conference in New York.

In related moves, NBCU announced it will use a new FreeWheel application program interface that allows real-time multi-currency optimization and in-flight pacing of streaming campaigns with data from iSpot, VideoAmp and others. An NBCU statement also said it will integrate with Mediaocean—the industry’s predominant platform for processing media transactions—to support planning, posting and billing across linear and streaming using multiple currencies, including iSpot and VideoAmp.

Those are among a host of measurement and data initiatives NBCU is announcing at the event, aimed at what the network bills as a “multi-currency future” beyond now dominant Nielsen. NBCU said 40% of its upfront deals last year included non-Nielsen currencies, and it's clearly aiming for more this year.

“This is the culmination of two years of working together since we announced our clean room integration,” said Michael Parkes, president of VideoAmp, in a statement. “We have a ton of demand from advertisers who are asking to do transactions on NBCU using VideoAmp as their only currency, so we look forward to making those deals successful with more accurate and sophisticated measurement.”

Also read: NBCU launches shoppable ads on Peacock

Among other moves announced today are certication of 27 measurement companies across brand impact measures, incrementality and sales impact and multi-touch attribution. Those companies include global measurement heavyweight Kantar plus Dynata, LoopMe, Lucid, MarketCast, Catalina, DataPlusMath, EDO, Iqvia, IRI, Kochava, NCSolutions, S&P Global’s Polk Mobility, Samba TV, TVSquared by Innovid, Veeva Crossix, Tatari, Neustar and Rockerbox.

Making linear advertising a little more digital

In partnership with Amazon Web Services, NBCU will now be able to treat its linear ad inventory more like digital advertising. While the company has long sold linear advertising against advanced audiences, it will now be able to automate placement as the campaign is airing. 

“In-Flight Linear Optimization” will consult forecasts from NBCU’s certified currency providers VideoAmp and iSpot to adjust an ad’s placement within an NBCU network as well as across them to make sure the campaign is shown to an optimal audience.

NBCU's 'Content Quality Index'

With MarketCast, NBCU is launching what it calls a Content Quality Index, described in the media company's statement as “a new metric that will provide a single score to compare how entertainment content, the advertising environment and ad creative work together to drive impact for advertisers across content types and platforms, while protecting the value of premium content in every environment.”

Given its backing by a media company such as NBCU, the CQI appears likely to score scripted network programming, news and live sports events higher than, say, creator content from Google, Meta's Facebook and Instagram, TikTok or other social platforms. As such, it could face skepticism not only from those digital players and creators, but also from media buyers. The superior ad environment network programming offers on linear or connected TV over creator content on digital platforms has been a longstanding argument of network executives over recent years.

In a press conference on Monday, NBCU Executive VP of Measurement and Impact Kelly Abcarian said the CGI at least initially would look at unified scores across network programming, not individual shows, at least initially, though program-level ratings might come eventually.

"So you would see a unified score on a weekly basis around how our content and platform experiences are driving a higher content quality,” Abcarian said.

She described the CQI as a “persistent resonance score that ranges from zero to one” and can be applied across NBCU and competitors. A 0.7 CQI would mean 70% of the audience had a higher ad recall inside of a network, she said, “vs. maybe UGC is 50%.”

While MarketCast is the initial partner with NBCU on the metric, she said the company is also looking to bring forward similar offerings from other measurement firms.