A New Era of Ad Accountability: Unifying Linear TV and Streaming Measurement
In a significant move to bridge the measurement gap between linear television and streaming, data and analytics company EDO has launched ‘EDO Always-On,’ a new cross-platform service designed to automate ad performance measurement. This launch directly addresses one of the advertising industry’s most persistent challenges: quantifying the direct business impact of campaigns across a fragmented video landscape. As viewers seamlessly switch between broadcast, cable, and on-demand streaming, marketers have struggled to maintain a unified view of an ad’s effectiveness. This article will explore the mechanics behind EDO’s new offering, examine its adoption by industry giants NBCUniversal and Paramount Global, and analyze its broader implications for the future of television advertising.
The Fragmentation Dilemma: Why Convergent TV Demanded a Measurement Revolution
For decades, television advertising measurement operated in distinct silos. Linear TV relied on established metrics like Gross Rating Points (GRPs) to measure audience reach, while digital video was assessed through impressions and clicks. The explosive growth of streaming services created a ‘convergent TV’ environment, where the lines between programming types blurred for the consumer but remained frustratingly distinct for measurement. This fragmentation left advertisers with an incomplete picture, often forcing them to rely on costly, slow, and complex multi-touch attribution (MTA) models to piece together campaign performance. The industry has been clamoring for a more efficient, scalable, and timely solution that moves beyond viewership metrics to measure tangible consumer engagement, setting the stage for an innovation like EDO Always-On.
Inside EDO Always-On: The Mechanics of Automated Outcomes
From Impressions to Impact: How ‘Always-On’ Connects Ads to Consumer Action
At its core, EDO Always-On shifts the focus from traditional exposure metrics to predictive, outcomes-based data. The service measures mid-funnel consumer behaviors that are proven to correlate with future sales, such as online searches and website visits that occur immediately after an ad is viewed. Powered by EDO’s proprietary Vertical AI and a massive syndicated dataset, the platform identifies these consumer engagement signals and directly “pipes” the performance data into the media owner’s own data infrastructure. This automated, continuous data feed provides in-flight insights, allowing advertisers and media companies to see what’s working in near real-time—a stark contrast to attribution studies that can take weeks or months to deliver results.
Powering the Platforms: NBCUniversal and Paramount Lead the Adoption
The immediate and enthusiastic adoption by two of the largest media conglomerates validates the market’s need for this solution. NBCUniversal is integrating EDO’s outcomes data directly into its Performance Insights Hub (PIH), making automated performance reporting a standard feature for all its advertisers. This integration empowers brands to optimize their campaigns on the fly within the NBCU ecosystem. Similarly, Paramount Global is making EDO’s measurement accessible to its clients through its InView platform, offering transparent performance analytics across its vast portfolio of linear and streaming properties. These partnerships demonstrate the service’s designed purpose: to be a foundational data layer that enhances a media partner’s existing tools rather than a separate, standalone dashboard.
The Value Proposition: Democratizing Performance Data for All Advertisers
The strategic advantage of the ‘Always-On’ model lies in its scalability and accessibility. Historically, deep performance analysis was reserved for the largest advertisers who could afford expensive, custom measurement studies. By providing a continuous, automated data stream, EDO and its partners are democratizing outcomes-based measurement. This allows advertisers of all sizes and across all categories—not just a select few—to understand and prove the value of their TV and streaming investments. The system is built for seamless integration into a publisher’s data stack, enhancing operational efficiency and making performance-driven conversations the new standard for every campaign.
The Road Ahead: Setting a New Standard for the Premium Video Ecosystem
The launch of EDO Always-On is more than just a new product; it signals a fundamental shift in how premium video advertising will be bought, sold, and measured. As more major publishers adopt this type of integrated outcomes measurement, the industry is poised to move away from legacy metrics toward a more accountable, results-oriented framework. This trend will likely accelerate, pushing for greater interoperability between measurement providers and media platforms. The future of TV advertising measurement will be defined by its ability to deliver real-time, cross-platform insights at scale, and this automated approach sets a powerful precedent for the entire industry.
From Insight to Action: What This Means for Brands and Media Owners
The key takeaway from this development is that outcomes-based measurement is no longer a niche, high-cost option but is rapidly becoming an operational standard. For advertisers and agencies, the recommendation is to proactively demand this level of granular, in-flight performance data from all media partners to ensure campaigns are fully optimized for business impact. For media owners, the imperative is to integrate similar data solutions into their platforms to provide the transparency and accountability that brands now expect. By embracing automated outcomes, both sides of the transaction can move beyond justifying ad spend and begin to strategically maximize its value.
Conclusion: The New Currency of Convergent TV
EDO’s launch of its ‘Always-On’ service marks an important milestone in the evolution of television advertising. By automating the delivery of cross-platform, outcomes-based data, it provides a scalable solution to the industry’s long-standing measurement fragmentation problem. With foundational partners like NBCUniversal and Paramount onboard, the stage is set for a broader transformation where consumer engagement becomes the primary currency for evaluating premium video. In a world of endless content choices, proving that an ad inspires action—not just attention—is the key to long-term success, and this innovation represents a critical step in that direction.
