Horizon reaches currency deal with Nielsen rival VideoAmp

“Once we walk them [clients] through our thinking, we’ve had very little resistance,” he said. “All of them understand that this is going to get us better measurement of general audiences, and long term better at measuring business results.”

Campanelli expects more of the alternative currency guarantees to happen on advanced audiences vs. standard 18-49 demographics. But he noted that some sellers, such as Warner Bros. Discovery, have signaled a willingness to do demographic guarantees on alternative currencies, too. “And we’ll definitely do those,” he said.

Even as deals based on custom audiences or outcomes take place, Campanelli said it’s also important “to make sure we’re getting the basic demo level counting correct, and basic household level accounting first, which makes advanced targets more reliable as well.”

That’s not just an issue for newer measurement providers, he said. “Two weeks ago, Nielsen had a release that they got the Super Bowl wrong,” he said. “If they didn’t get the Super Bowl right, how do you get the overnight ratings on a small cable network right, and what’s the reliability?”

Related: Nielsen miscounts Super Bowl audience

Like Campanelli, VideoAmp President Michael Parkes didn’t make an overall or dollar volume prediction for how much of the upfront market will move on new currencies this year.