Market research firm Ipsos this morning announced it will add UK viewing data from YouTube into its online audience measurement platform, Ipsos iris.
The integration will allow media owners, agencies and advertisers to analyse viewing data across online video publishers in one place, according to Ipsos, enabling businesses to shape content and advertising strategies. Ipsos iris reports viewing across uniform demographics, and will provide YouTube measurement across more than 500 audience segments.
“We are thrilled to bring YouTube’s rich data into Ipsos iris,” said James Oates, Head of Ipsos iris. “The inclusion of video views and watch time across content owners not only enhances the robustness of our platform but also provides our subscribers with a holistic view of media consumption. This integration asserts our commitment to delivering market-leading measurement solutions.”
Ipsos iris is endorsed by UKOM, the UK body that governs the industry standard for online audience measurement across PC, tablet and smartphone. UKOM is co-owned by the Association of Online Publishers (AOP), the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) and the Incorporated Society of British Advertisers (ISBA).
“UKOM is proud to collaborate with Google and Ipsos to deliver this breakdown by organisation in the iris data for YouTube,” said UKOM CEO Ian Dowds. “It is a great example of UKOM’s flexible approach towards endorsing what the industry is calling for: trusted, transparent and robust data at an increasingly granular level.”
Going mobile
As video sharing platforms continue to grow their share of viewing time in the UK, transparency into their measurement also grows in importance to advertisers – and as one of the most popular destinations for video, the addition of YouTube viewing into the Ipsos platform adds a key slice of the online viewing picture.
YouTube itself has been criticised in the past for trying to mark its own homework. Last year the Google-owned company announced plans to move away from third-party measurement for co-viewing on CTV, and instead trade based on its own survey data, a move that was met with backlash from the buy-side.
The business delayed the changes to the end of 2024, but TV viewing (which accounts for around half of YouTube views) arguably still lacks transparency in the UK; YouTube is not signed up to Barb, the national TV measurement body.
But for the half of YouTube viewing that takes place on PC, tablet and mobile, the partnership with Ipsos could reassure buyers seeking reassurances over YouTube data, as the company seeks to align itself with a third-party measurement platform – especially one entrusted by the industry body that sets standards for online audience measurement.
“Innovation in measurement is critical to the continued success of our industry and Google will continue to invest in transparent, fair, consistent and privacy centric solutions,” said Biren Kalaria, Managing Director at Google UK. “YouTube plays an important role in everyday viewing across all audiences in the UK and it’s important that our partners have access to a complete picture of online video consumption across screens and platforms.
“With that in mind, we’re excited to be partnering with Ipsos on this important project, the only UKOM endorsed digital measurement provider, which will facilitate a greater understanding of what people are watching on YouTube and beyond.”
