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How Precise Out of Home Measurement Is Reshaping Modern TV Currency

With over 17 percent of TV impressions in the U.S. coming from out of home (OOH) audiences*, it’s important to have accurate measurement and currency that brands and networks can rely on for a complete picture of ad and program viewership. This is especially true when it comes to live sports programming, where many brands invest millions of TV ad dollars to reach large audiences.  

Legacy out of home TV measurement methods are increasingly error-prone, leaving advertisers and networks missing out on the significant piece of the TV viewership puzzle and ultimately underrepresent the full audience. Without complete audience measurement, advertisers struggle to accurately assess TV ad performance and networks miss out on revenue from untapped audiences. 

Limitations of Legacy OOH Measurement

Legacy OOH measurement methods rely on outdated audio detection technology to capture viewership data that result in an incomplete picture of OOH reach for advertisers. Audio-based meters come with a set of inherent challenges, like missing unreported data, false positives, lack of scale and biases in terms of users and demographics. 

Legacy OOH TV measurement fails to capture any viewership that occurs on muted TVs (like in airports or gyms) or in noisy environments (like crowded sports bars). This missing piece accounts for approximately 60% of all OOH viewing. Similarly, in environments where multiple TVs are playing various programs at the same time, legacy OOH TV measurement may only capture the audio from one singular, unmuted TV. As a result, other screens in the area would be completely overlooked by legacy measurement approaches.  

Legacy solutions also don’t capture true out of home viewership. In most cases, they measure guest viewing that takes place in someone else’s home, which is already accounted for in traditional in-home metrics.

Enhancing Measurement with OOH Data

Tunity, an iSpot company, changes the game by providing a modern solution for advertisers and networks to accurately measure out of home TV viewership while enhancing the out of home experience for its app users. From there, users can scan any muted TV to hear live audio directly on their mobile devices. This innovative technology was recently recognized at the 11th annual Cynopsis Sports Media Awards, where Tunity won Best Mobile App

iSpot Out of Home Measurement offers TV networks valuable insights into viewership patterns in out of home settings. By leveraging iSpot OOH viewership data that measures previously missed audiences, networks can understand the total reach of their programming which opens up the door for better optimized ad inventory, new advertisers and more revenue. Tunity keeps viewers more engaged with TV content in OOH environments, increasing ad exposure and opportunities to leverage previously untapped viewership and revenue potential.

iSpot Out of Home Measurement provides advertisers the data-driven insights they need to optimize their advertising campaigns. By understanding TV ad performance in OOH settings and evaluating the effectiveness of their ad spend, advertisers can refine their targeting strategies, adjust messaging, and allocate budget more effectively. 

Modern TV Currency Requires Precise OOH Measurement

Staying ahead of the curve is essential for success in today’s rapidly evolving media landscape. Without accurate OOH TV measurement and currency, advertisers and networks are missing out on a significant share of impressions. This leads to poor planning, forecasting and media optimizations based on faulty data. By providing a more comprehensive and accurate data set, iSpot’s OOH TV measurement helps marketers make informed decisions to maximize the impact of their advertising campaigns. 


*Based on survey results conducted using iSpot’s rapid, survey-based Creative Assessment methodology over the course of a two week period (August – September 2022), sampling 57.9K US consumers ages 16+.