Streaming TV Glossary

Privacy Sandbox

A Google initiative to set ad targeting, measurement and fraud prevention standards in a cookieless future, where cookies are replaced by five application programming interfaces. Advertisers will use each API to receive aggregated data about issues like conversion and attribution. Advertisers will rely on anonymized signals (not cookies) within a person's Chrome browser to profit from that user's browsing habits.

Game Console

A PlayStation, Xbox or other game console that can act as a connected device via a built-in app store for streaming video and other content to a TV.

Proxy

A figure that can be used to represent the value of something in a calculation.

Ad-Supported Video-on-Demand (AVOD)

A free streaming service that gives users access to a variety of premium content in exchange for watching ads (ex: Pluto, Tubi).

Target Rating Point (TRP)

A gross rating point delivered by a media vehicle to a specific target audience.

Multitouch Attribution (MTA)

A marketing effectiveness measurement technique that takes all of the touchpoints on the consumer journey into consideration and assigns fractional credit to each so that a marketer can see how much influence each channel has on a sale.

Viewability

A measure of whether an advertisement was actually seen by a human being, as opposed to being out of view or served as the result of automated activity.

FLoC (federated learning of cohorts)

A method for browsers to enable interest-based advertising. It works by gathering data about a user's browsing habits and then clustering groups of users with similar interests into cohorts.

Gross Rating Point (GRP)

A metric that measures the size of an audience reached through a specific media channel. It communicates the percentage of people (or households) tuned into a program, compared to the population (or population of households). Calculated by Reach (%) x Average Frequency (#) or 100 x Impressions (#) / Defined population (#)

Satellite TV

A service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location via an outdoor antenna commonly referred to as a satellite dish.

Pay TV

A service that requires a subscription to a traditional pay TV provider; excludes IPTV and pure-play digital video services (ex: Hulu, Netflix, YouTube, Sling TV, etc.). Traditional pay TV providers include cable, satellite, telco, and fiber operators, MSOs, MVPDs, and major TV broadcast and cable networks.

API (Application Programming Interface)

A set of functions and procedures that allow for the creation of applications that access data and features of other applications, services, or operating systems.

Brand Safety

A set of measures that aim to protect the image and reputation of brands from the negative or damaging influence of questionable or inappropriate content when advertising online.

Data Governance

A set of principles and practices that ensure high quality through the complete lifecycle of your data. A practical and actionable framework to help a variety of data stakeholders across any organization identify and meet their information needs.

Set-top Box

A small media player that can be plugged into an HDMI port on a TV set that allows access to streaming services or enables content to be cast from a smartphone or other supported device (ex: Amazon Fire, Roku, Chromecast).

Streaming Box/Stick

A small media player that can be plugged into an HDMI port on a TV set that allows access to streaming services or enables content to be cast from a smartphone or other supported device (ex: Amazon Fire, Roku, Chromecast).

Sample

A small part or quantity intended to show what the world is like.

Cookie

A small piece of data stored on a user's computer by a web browser while browsing a website. These were designed to be a reliable mechanism for websites to remember stateful information or to record the user's browsing activity.

Hybrid AVOD/SVOD

A streaming service that offers multiple subscription levels with commercial options (ex: Peacock, Hulu). There are typically 3 tiers for consumers: 1) Paid: For a monthly fee, users can stream content commercial-free. 2) Limited Commercials: For a lower fee, users can stream content with limited ad breaks. 4) Ad-Supported: For free, users can watch certain content in exchange for a higher hourly ad load

Subscription Video-on-Demand (SVOD)

A subscription-based streaming service that gives users access to a wide range of premium, usually ad-free, video content for a monthly or annual fee. (ex: Disney+, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video)

Cable TV

A system of delivering television programming to paying subscribers through radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables.

Behavioral Targeting

A technique used in online advertising and publishing, where data from visitor browsing habits (ex: search terms, sites visited, purchased) is used to display relevant ads and offers and improve campaign effectiveness.

Demand-Side Platform (DSP)

A technology platform that provides centralized & aggregated media buying from multiple sources including ad exchanges, ad networks and sell-side platforms, which often leverages the real-time bidding capabilities of these sources (ex: Amobee, VideoAmp, The Trade Desk).

Supply-Side Platform (SSP_

A technology platform that provides outsourced media selling and ad network management services for publishers. The business model resembles that of an ad network in that it aggregates ad inventory, however they serve publishers exclusively and do not provide services for advertisers (ex: FreeWheel, SpotX).

Connected TV (CTV)

A television set that has built-in Internet capabilities (ex: Smart TV) or is connected to the Internet via a streaming device such as a streaming box/stick, gaming console or Blu-ray player; all of which can access a variety of long-form and short-form content. (Ex: Apple TV, Google Chromecast, Roku).

Smart TV

A television with a built-in Internet connection that provides direct access to streamed content via apps on the device itself (ex: Samsung, Vizio, LG)

Media Mix Model (MMM)

A type of top-down model that's historically been used for traditional media planning and budgeting purposes. Unlike many digital attribution models, these look at channel contributions at an aggregate level. Reporting is also less frequent than for digital attribution; many consult these models quarterly or yearly. Models may incorporate digital marketing data, but it is often added in aggregate. These models typically pull in external influences affecting a desired outcome—pricing, weather, competitor data, etc.

Ad Server

A web server that hosts information about ads and delivers advertising content to different digital platforms, websites, and mobile apps.

Brand Fame

Achieved when a brand is powerful, premium and iconic. Highly visible, talked about, and seen as creative.

Pre-roll, Mid-roll & Post-roll

Ad breaks that occur before the content begins, in the middle of the content airing, or when the content ends, respectively.

Machine Learning

Algorithms that use statistics to find patterns in massive amounts of data. They parse data, learn from that data, and make informed decisions based on what it has learned.

Cross Channel Attribution

Allows companies to assign credit and measure the impact of individual touchpoints while looking at how that unique mix works together cohesively throughout the customer lifecycle.

Transactional Video-on-Demand (TVOD)

Allows consumers to make one-off purchases to buy or rent video content, particularly long-form movie content or live pay-per-view (PPV) content like sporting events.

Device Graph

Also known as "identity management," it's a map that links an individual to all the devices they use, which could be a person's computer at work, laptop at home, tablet and smartphone.

Census

An official count or survey of a population, typically recording various details of individuals.

Video Streaming

Any video content that is delivered to a video device via the Internet through a variety of access points.

iOS 14 Update

Apple announced that part of this update will give users the choice to block IDFA identifiers at the app level. This update requires apps to ask users for permission to collect and share data.

Advanced Television Systems Committee Standards 3.0 (ASTC 3.0)

Built on the same Internet Protocol backbone as today's streaming media platforms, this next generation terrestrial broadcast system is designed to bring together OTA with OTT content to deliver better video quality and immersive audio to viewers.

Household Data

Collected from non-personal devices shared within households, such as a television set. Household data has broad scale but less precision at an individual consumer level, given the shared nature of the targeted devices in question.

Co-Viewing

Consuming video/media content with multiple members of a household or with a group of people.

Big Data

Data that contains greater variety arriving in increasing volumes and with ever-higher velocity. Larger, more complex data sets, especially from new data sources. These data sets are so voluminous that traditional data processing software just can't manage them.

Data-Driven Linear TV

Delivered by networks like NBCU, CBS, ESPN, and AMC through a linear over-the-air TV. Also known as audience-based buying, it compares a target data set against viewership to uncover the most efficient buys to reach the target audience. This provides the greatest reach on a national scale for a concentrated target audience.

Ad Exchange

Digital marketplaces where publishers and advertisers come together to trade digital ad inventory such as display, native, video, mobile and in-app. An auction mediation mechanism that does not serve either the buyer or the seller side; it is an autonomous platform that facilitates programmatic ad buying.

Virtual Multichannel Video Programming Distributor (vMVPD)

Digital-only cable alternatives that offer access to both live and on demand premium video content for a subscription fee (ex: Sling TV, fuboTV, Hulu Live, YouTube TV). AKA, platforms that deliver live, linear TV over the internet.

Video-on-Demand (VOD)

Enables users to select and watch video content whenever they choose to, rather than at a specific broadcast time.

Data Science

Extracting knowledge and insights from data. Often a slide deck summarizing conclusions to act on or for a product team to use to improve technology.

Probabilistic Model

Includes either unknowns or such a wide array of knowns that deterministic models lose their accuracy.

1st Party Data

Information collected by a brand directly from its customers. Requires a business to use a pixel, cookies, or cross-device identification (XDID) to track customer behavior and gather some data.

Zero-Party Data (ZPD)

Information which a customer intentionally and proactively shares with a brand. This can include purchase intent, personal context, preferences, and how the individual wants the brand to recognize them.

Outcome-Based Guarantees

Instead of a media viewership threshold, these guarantees are based on outside factors that show buyer impact like sales, tune-in, website visitation, and more.

Internet Protocol TV (IPTV)

Instead of receiving TV programs as broadcast signals that enter homes from an antenna, satellite dish, or fiber-optic cable, viewers get them streamed (downloaded & played almost simultaneously) through their Internet connection.

Shoppable Advertising

Interactive advertising taken to the next level, allowing the viewer to purchase a product right in the ad by adding browsable product images underneath the ad or directly on the screen to drive traffic directly to a brand's products or website.

Premium Video-on-Demand (PVOD)

New, feature films made available for rent or purchase via streaming services alongside, or in place of, a theatrical release—often, but not always, at a higher price point than traditional on-demand movies.

Set-Top Box VOD

On-demand content available through a cable provider. This could be shows that have already aired, news and sports clips, movies and some specially produced content via exclusive deals between the cable companies and content producers.

3rd Party Data

Pre-collected information a company buys from an external source.

2nd Party Data

Primarily another company's 1st-party data that can be exchanged with a brand for the benefit of both parties.

Full Episode Player (FEP)

Professionally produced, TV and TV-like content that can appear on any device, across both apps and web browsers. Each episode is television length, typically 30-60 minutes, with commercial breaks in between (ex: Hulu, Bravo App).

Livestreaming

Professionally-produced or user-generated long-form or short-form content streamed online live as it happens (ex: Concert - One World: Together at Home, Sporting Event - Virtual NFL Draft, Instagram Live - Verzuz TV).

Multichannel Video Programming Distributor (MVPD)

Provides pay TV services delivered either through cable TV, satellite or telco (ex: Comcast, DirecTV, Verizon Fios).

Automatic Content Recognition (ACR)

Smart TV technology that leverages a content database to recognize and identify video and audio content that a user is actively watching or engaging with. Marketers use this data to measure which programs and ads viewers see. (Samsung, Visio, Inscape)

Cord-shaver

Someone who cut back on their pay TV service level but still subscribes.

Cord-never

Someone who never subscribed to pay TV in the first place.

Cord-cutter

Someone who once had but then canceled a pay TV service.

eCPM

Stands for "effective cost per thousand." This is the same as CPM, but it allows for a standardized metric across multiple buying models, campaigns, and channels. This is more revenue-centric and used for any buying method such as cost-per-acquisition, cost-per-click, etc.

Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV (FAST)

Streaming services that have content pre-programmed into linear channels with ad breaks, which the user can choose from to watch. The viewer cannot select a FAST channel and decide the show or movie to watch on it, much as one cannot begin to watch ABC and force it to play "Grey's Anatomy" (ex: Samsung TV Plus, Xumo).

Interactive Advertising

Tactics that encourage viewers to directly engage with an ad such as quizzes, promos or links for more information, and which utilizes technologies like augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and QR codes.

Addressable TV (ATV)

Targeted TV ads delivered on a home-by-home basis via cable, satellite, and telco boxes. It includes both linear and video-on-demand (VOD) delivered in this way but excludes connected TV and OTT. (DirecTV, Dishnetwork are sources of addressable inventory.)

Advanced TV

Television paired with technology that allows for new features, components, or uses. Umbrella term referring to any video content or advertising that is not linear. Addressable, programmatic, OTT, and interactive are all subsets of advanced TV.

Linear TV

Television programming distributed through cable, satellite, or broadcast networks; includes VOD.

TV Everywhere (TVE)

The ability for a viewer to watch TV and film content whenever and wherever across devices (Smart TV, Connected Device, Tablet, Mobile Device or PC) and accessed through either a broadcast or cable programmer (via MCPD authentication/user log-in) or an MCPD app (Like Comcast Xfinity & Spectrum TV).

AI (artificial intelligence)

The ability of a digital computer or computer-controlled robot to perform tasks commonly associated with intelligent beings. The term is frequently applied to the project of developing systems endowed with the intellectual processes characteristic of humans, such as the ability to reason, discover meaning, generalize, or learn from past experience.

Identity

The ability to individualize consumers (or their devices) rather than treat them as a group.

Panel Buying (Consumer Panels)

The act of buying TV advertising based on a panel of households or individuals whose purchases are monitored on a continuous or ongoing basis.

Audience-based Buying

The act of buying TV advertising based on an advanced audience segment, which was created using behavioral, attitudinal, and/or lifestyle-based data. This enables cost-effective and optimized media plans to target behavioral segments.

Deterministic Model

The analysis of data that is known to be true.

Media Ranker

The analysis output after bringing together TV viewership data and a brand's unique target audience. That target audience could include 1st, 2nd, or 3rd party data, or a combination of multiple data sets. The report ranks the best matching media, networks, and programs based on which media opportunities over-index for that campaign's specific target audience.

Consumer Privacy

The handling and protection of the sensitive personal information provided by customers in the course of everyday transactions.

Error Rate

The measurement of the effectiveness of a channel. It is the ratio of the number of erroneous units of data to the total number of units of data transmitted

Reach

The number of people exposed to your marketing message.

Frequency

The number of times a person is exposed to your marketing message.

SDK (Software Development Kit)

The origination sources for almost every program a modern user interacts with. This provides a set of information that allow developers to create software applications on a specific platform. If an API is a set of building blocks that allow for the creation of something, this is a full-fledged workshop, facilitating creation far outside the scopes of what an API would allow.

Contextual Targeting

The practice of placing ads on web pages based on the content of those pages. (ex: ad for running shoes placed on a news article about running.)

Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI)

The process of inserting targeted ads into a content stream, allowing for different ads to be served to relevant households/audiences within the same ad break.

Ad Fraud

The theory and practice of fraudulently representing online advertisement impressions, clicks, conversion or data events in order to generate revenue.

Programmatic TV

The use of software platforms to automate the buying or selling of TV advertising distributed through cable, satellite, or broadcast networks.

Deep Learning

This structures algorithms in layers to create an "artificial neural network" that can learn and make intelligent decisions on its own.

CPM

Used to denote the cost an advertiser pays per one thousand advertising impressions.

Broadcast TV

Uses analog signals, in which the television signal is transmitted over the air by radio waves and received by a television antenna attached to the television.

Over-the-Top (OTT)

Video content that is delivered over an Internet connection, independently of a traditional pay TV service. (TV, PC, Tablet, or Smartphone). (ex: HBO Now, Hulu, Netflix, and YouTube)

Premium Video

Video content that is professionally produced, rights managed, and limited in supply.

Over-the-Air (OTA)

Video delivery system that does not involve a paid service like satellite transmission or cable.

Short-Term Video

Video programming that is 8-10 minutes or under such as movie trailers, short clips, music videos, etc.

Long-Form Video

Video programming that is longer than 8-10 minutes such as TV show episodes, movies, etc.

User-Generated Content (UGC)

Videos of streams that have been created and posted by users of digital websites or social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.

Binge-Watching

Viewing behavior of watching video content, usually a single program, for a prolonged period of time. A survey conducted by Netflix in 2014 found that 73% of people defined 'binge-watching' as watching between 2-6 episodes of the same TV show in one sitting. Others have proposed that 'binge-watching' can refer to consuming an entire season (or seasons) of a show over several days.

Broadband-Only

Wireline broadband-connected U.S. occupied households without a traditional multichannel video package from an MVPD.