Los Angeles, February 15, 2018 --TV[R]EV, the analyst group comprised of journalists and executives at the intersection of TV, media and technology today released a special deep dive report on the Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) Measurement and the state of Smart TV commerce.
The studies, written by TV[R]EV lead analyst Alan Wolk, noted journalist, author and editor Dade Hayes (B&C, Variety, Deadline) delve into the hows and whys of ACR data, with deep dives into how it works, how the data is collected, who is doing the collecting and how it is being utilized for advertising purposes. The team interviewed dozens of industry professionals to compile their data which is being released as a two-part report. It’sfirst installment can be found here: “ACR: How It Works”
“One of the things that really surprised us as we delved into this was how much confusion there was about ACR and how it worked,” reports Wolk, author of the best-selling TV industry primer Over The Top: How The Internet Is (Slowly But Surely) Changing The Television Industry and Lead Analyst at TV[R]EV’s new consulting arm. “That helped us to realize just how necessary the report would be and how much education there was to be done on the topic.”
That education can be a continuing process via TV[R]EV, which will run training workshops to help companies get up to speed on ACR and other hot topics in order to prepare themselves for the upcoming upfronts. The team will also be available to serve as Analysts-In-Residence, helping new companies develop a go-to market strategy and develop further in-depth research reports.
ACR Data Predicted To Grow Into $5B Industry
TV[R]EV estimates that the ACR measurement business, currently valued at around $500M will grow to around $5 billion by 2021. “We’re seeing a huge uptick in adoption,” notes Damata, an industry fixture who also runs LA-based branding firm Fabric Media. “As the OTT ad market grows, brands and networks are starting to see the value of ACR data and need to educate themselves about how it works and who has the best data, even who the leading smart TV manufacturers are: many of the people we spoke with were not aware that Samsung and Vizio control close to three-quarters of the smart TV market.”
Privacy issues also continue to play a huge role in how ACR data is perceived. “The FTC has issued clear guidelines,” observes Hayes, currently a Contributing Editor at Deadline, “but some providers are starting to find loopholes or ways around them. Companies buying ACR data need to be sure their data is coming from compliant sources or the FTC could wipe it all away.”
The two-part report will be available via the TV[R]EV website, with the first, entitled “ACR: How It Works” released this week.
For further details about both the reports and about TV[R]EV’s consulting services, email yotvrev@gmail.com.
