TV measurement company iSpot.tv has released a report designed to illustrate a need “for more precise ad buying” during live sports programming. The study, authored by iSpot VP of Sports Insights and Strategy Dave Coletti, sends the message that “Every Second Counts.”
Specifically, Coletti examines the differences between the industry-standard Average Commercial Minute (ACM) measurement of ads versus exact-ad impression deliveries — and, naturally, analyzes the opportunities surrounding the latter.
The report also takes a focused look at live sports, and applies both ACM and exact-ad measurement methodologies in order to find differences, commonalities and where underperformance of ad delivery exists within specific sporting events.
The report “leverages iSpot data” to uncover several key findings about how media has been bought and sold historically, and how it might evolve in the future.
Among the top sports advertisers, “there’s a great divide between spot-level impressions and average audiences — especially when games are lopsided.”
Meanwhile, iSpot data found a 12% increase in sports TV ad impressions since 2023, with over 900 billion ad impressions generated by sports content in the past year (this comprised 14% of all national linear TV ad impressions).
Coletti also questions if it is time for a new metric, something iSpot.tv’s business model hinges on. The company says, “Average Commercial Minute (ACM) Audience – average of all ad minutes that ran during a program – has long been the transactional norm, as a proxy for previously unattainable spot-level impressions (SLI). But those limitations no longer exist, and big data can tell advertisers the precise audience delivery of each ad delivery.”
The full report from iSpot.tv can be found HERE.
