TV Advertising Glossary

Attribution

A method of analyzing an advertising campaign's effectiveness by measuring campaign exposure and subsequent user actions with the brand. An attribution study can show which creatives, networks, dayparts, and other elements were most effective and inform future campaigns. Continuum uses two attribution models: deterministic attribution and probabilistic attribution.

Affiliate

Most local broadcast stations distribute programming for a national broadcast network to the DMA they cover. This relationship is commonly referred to as an affiliate. Example: KUSA is the NBC affiliate in the Denver DMA.

Addressability (Addressable Advertising)

The ability to target a message, such as an advertisement, directly to a single device, browser, segment, or individual. Example: Colorado Tourism serves ads for its winter campaign only to skiers with a household income of $150K or more.

ADU (Audience Deficiency Unit)

Units of inventory aired as make-good fulfillment for a guaranteed campaign that under-delivered.

Ad-Supported Video-On-Demand (AVOD)

Typically free, on-demand video streaming services that serve ads to consumers. A popular example is YouTube.

Ad Break

A break in a TV show or other entertainment content during which advertisements are aired. In linear TV there are usually 5–7 ad breaks each hour, and each ad break lasts 2–4 minutes.

ACR (Automated Content Recognition)

Technology in a TV device that allows content (pixels) to be matched back to a database to identify what programs and ads people are watching.

Broadcast Station Group

A company that owns multiple broadcast stations around the country. For example, Sinclair Broadcast Group owns nearly 200 stations in more than 100 TV markets (DMAs).

Broadcast Calendar

A standardized calendar used primarily for planning and purchasing television and radio advertising.

CTV (Connected TV)

A TV connected to the internet that can stream video content. This includes smart TVs, external OTT devices such as an Amazon Fire TV Stick, and gaming consoles.

Cord-Never Households

Households that have never subscribed to traditional cable or satellite TV services.

Cord-Cutter Households

Households that have stopped subscribing to traditional cable or satellite TV services.

Campaign Clearance

For non-guaranteed campaigns, the percentage of the campaign budget delivered. For guaranteed campaigns, the percentage of contracted demographic impressions delivered.

Cable Zone

A geographic grouping of cable TV subscribers used to deliver geographically targeted ads. For example, a car dealership southwest of Denver might buy only the cable zone covering nearby suburbs. There are more than 2,000 cable zones across the U.S.

DSP (Demand Side Platform)

An automated buying platform used by advertisers and agencies to purchase digital ad inventory, such as CTV. DSPs allow buyers to automate campaign optimization and rate negotiation across numerous publishers from a single platform.

DMA (Designated Market Area)

A geographic area in the United States in which Nielsen measures local television viewing. Markets are identified by the largest city or cities near the center of the region. There are 210 DMAs covering the continental United States, Hawaii, and parts of Alaska. DMAs are also called markets or TV markets.

Deterministic Attribution

A household-level attribution model in which campaign exposure and subsequent consumer actions are measured for every household in the sample universe. Engagement rates are compared between exposed and unexposed households, then aggregated to report on the campaign and its individual elements, such as creatives, networks, and dayparts.

Daypart

A campaign parameter indicating the days of the week and hours of the day during which campaign ads can air. Examples include Mon–Fri 9 a.m.–4 p.m., Mon–Sun 8 p.m.–12 a.m., and Sat–Sun 9 a.m.–8 p.m. Dayparts may also be called Prime, Daytime, Weekend, and similar names.

Equivalized Impressions

A type of impression measurement used for TV campaigns. Equivalized impressions represent the number of 30-second impressions generated by a campaign. A campaign must generate two 15-second impressions to count as one equivalized impression.

Frequency

In campaign measurement, the number of times a commercial was served to an individual or household during a campaign.

First-Party Data

Data collected by a company from a user's direct interactions with that company. Examples include viewership data collected by a streaming service, purchase data collected by a store, and web interactions collected by a website.

Gross Rating Points (GRPs)

The total number of rating points for a campaign. GRPs measure campaign volume in relation to the target demographic. In TV, advertisers typically provide either a target number of GRPs or a target number of impressions.

Gross Impression

The total number of ad impressions served before invalid-traffic filtering. This includes valid impressions and impressions later identified as invalid, including GIVT and SIVT.

Geo-Targeting

Targeting campaigns to customers in specific geographic areas. Advertisers may do this because services are available only in selected regions or to test campaign impact before scaling nationally. Depending on the inventory, targeting may be based on state, DMA, city, or ZIP code.

Household Income (HHI)

The total gross income generated by the individuals living within a particular household, such as $150K.

Hiatus Week

A week during an advertising campaign when the campaign is paused and no ads are served.

Inventory Clearance

The percentage of dollars aired compared with the total dollars ordered from an inventory partner.

Inventory

Spots, often 30 seconds long, in a TV network's schedule that are available for advertisements.

Impression

A unit of advertising measurement representing an advertisement served to an individual or household. Impressions may be defined for a household or a specific target audience, such as adults ages 18–34.

Linear TV

A system in which viewers watch scheduled TV programming when it is broadcast on its original channel. Linear TV may be consumed through over-the-air broadcast stations, cable or satellite feeds, or live streaming services such as Sling or YouTube TV.

Lift

The incremental impact of a marketing campaign or activity on a desired outcome, such as conversions, sales, or sign-ups, compared with a baseline or control group. Lift helps isolate campaign impact and determine whether a channel or campaign is producing meaningful results.

MVPD (Multichannel Video Programming Distributor)

A television service that provides traditional access to multiple channels through cable or satellite delivery. Examples include Comcast (Xfinity), Dish Network, Spectrum, and Cox.

Media Plan

A structured outline of a brand's advertising campaign defining the elements to be executed, including budgets and content.

Managed Service Platform (MSP)

An advertising platform that includes campaign planning and execution facilitated by the platform owner. The platform is used exclusively by the owner's employees rather than directly by the advertiser or agency.

OTT (Over-the-Top)

The delivery of video content over the internet rather than through traditional delivery services such as cable or satellite companies.

OTA (Over-the-Air)

A type of content distribution that broadcasts a signal that can be received by a digital antenna. Local broadcast stations use this distribution channel.

Subscription Video-On-Demand (SVOD)

Subscription-based video streaming services. Examples include Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, and Max.

Spot Rate

The cost of an advertising spot on a given network at a given time. It is determined by the household CPM and estimated impressions for that network and time. See CPM. Household impressions are scaled by platform subscribers, reduction percentage, equivalization, and correction factor.

Upfront

A period before the new TV season when television networks and advertisers review upcoming shows and negotiate annual budgets. It typically takes place from March through May.