Horizon Media will use Nielsen alternatives for up to 15% of TV upfront deals

Horizon Media will do up to 15% of its 2022 upfront deals using alternative currencies, the agency announced in a statement, based on results of its recent request for information around competitors to dominant TV measurement player Nielsen. While numerous agencies and holding companies have committed to “test and learn” on alternative TV measurements during this year’s upfronts, Horizon’s appears to be by far the largest commitment to actually write deals using measurement firms such as Comscore, VideoAmp and iSpot.tv. Horizon said it would use “two to three alternative currencies” without specifying which. Subscribe to Ad Age now for the latest industry news and analysis. Horizon, which is the largest U.S. media agency by revenue according to the Ad Age Datacenter, also said it will work with media entities including Paramount, NBCUniversal, Warner Bros., Discovery, AMC Networks, Allen Media Group and several other minority-owned and targeted companies, on “collective solutions.” Clearly Horizon, which recently announced a plan to work with Nielsen to launch a multicultural planning platform, doesn’t want to put all of its measurement eggs in Nielsen’s basket. “For us, the goal is quite simple – to better measure the impact of our campaigns and the networks which contribute most to business success, versus simply measuring impression viewership,” said David Campanelli, chief investment officer of Horizon, in a statement. “Without a doubt, a multi-currency ecosystem will become the new norm for transacting business, and we intend to lead that change.” RSVP for Ad Age In-Depth: TV Pivot on May 24 and 25 at AdAge.com/TVPivot A Horizon research team late last year issued an industry-wide “Video Currency Data” RFI to validate vendors and potential currency solutions. The agency has “engaged all major and some smaller network groups” for information exchange, with roughly two dozen tests in market, either live or preparing to launch across a variety of clients, demographics and services, its statement said. “We’re excited to help accelerate Horizon’s efforts around multi-currency ahead of this year’s upfront,” said John Halley, chief operating officer of advertising for Paramount in a statement. “We are committed to evolving the legacy transaction model to better align with Horizon’s planning and measurement needs.” The deadline for the 2022 Small Agency Awards is Wednesday, April 27. Submit your entry at AdAge.com/SAA2022

Horizon Media will use Nielsen alternatives for up to 15% of TV upfront deals

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