As the largest streaming platform, YouTube is “in the same conversation as the big television networks and streaming platforms,” Parkes said. “They’re looking for ways to better service their advertisers and deliver on the commitments they have.”
While they increasingly compete alongside one another on TV screens, YouTube, and at least some of the TV networks, particularly through the Joint Industry Committee they’re backing, have been at odds over how measurement should take place. YouTube has argued for the Media Rating Council’s two-second viewable impression as the cornerstone of audience measurement, while networks via the JIC have argued for measuring longer ad duration and weighting impressions on a content quality basis.
“The way the buy side and sell side agree to transact is ultimately up to them,” Parkes said. “We’ve taken the approach of creating the most flexible platform where we’re looking to maximize our measurement coverage across the ecosystem to allow buyers and sellers to make the best decisions they can and not be constrained by legacy metrics and legacy ways of doing things.”