The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers said it is searching for a technology for an open standard for binding Ad-IDs to commercials and Entertainment ID Registry metadata into programming content. Ad-ID is a joint venture of the Association of National Advertisers and the American Association of Advertising Agencies (or 4A’s). EIDR is a coalition promoting the use of a unique, global identifier for digital entertainment assets, including films and television episodes.
The SMPTE Technology Committee on Television and Broadband (24TB) drafting group on open binding of IDs released a request for proposals seeking responses from organizations that want to submit their technology for consideration as a solution that can dramatically improve how video advertising and content are identified, tracked and measured.
SMPTE drafting group chair Chris Lennon said in a release: “With this RFP, we will identify the technology that can be the basis for an open industry standard so that our industry can finally identify what content or ad is being viewed no matter what device is being used.”
SMPTE is introducing the RFP following a yearlong study group that identified the technical solution to bind EIDR and Ad-ID identifying metadata as a critical next step toward establishing an interoperable standard for all professional video throughout the entire media ecosystem. The study group recommended an open standard watermark with embedded EIDR and Ad-ID metadata. The Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement, a coalition of media buyers and sellers, collaborated with SMPTE on the study group and is continuing to participate in the Drafting Group.
“The Drafting Group has taken on an extremely important project for our industry,” Jane Clarke, CEO and managing director, CIMM, said in the release. “There is no open binding technology standard such as watermarks or fingerprints for content identification in audio and video. This RFP will identify the technology that can be developed into a solution for content creators and distributors to effectively and reliably bind IDs to media assets.”
The RFP process aims to identify a technology for watermarks that can form the basis of an open standard to be developed and published by SMPTE. Notification of intent to respond is due to the Drafting Group by April 17, with the RFP closing on May 4. The Drafting Group will conduct an online, open Q&A session for respondents on April 20. To attend, please contact Lennon at clennon@medianswers.tv.
The RFP is accompanied by a draft test plan that can be accessed here for an overview of how submissions will be evaluated. The RFP and draft test plan may be accessed here. The drafting group may be contacted at 24TB-binding@lists.smpte.org.
