Agencies welcome Barb’s YouTube measurement but emphasise need for development
Last week, Barb announced that it has begun reporting TV set viewing of YouTube of 200 of the most-watched channels on the platform.
According to consultant Justin Lebbon, this marks an attempt from Barb, as a joint industry currency (JIC), to “level the playing field” following Google’s decision to call YouTube TV as opposed to a social platform.
Barb’s methodology has been a point of contention for some, however, in part down to its use of automatic content recognition audio-matching to track viewing.
Meanwhile, Ofcom’s annual Media Nations report, also released last week, found that YouTube is the second-most-watched service in the UK, behind the BBC and ahead of ITV.
The Media Leader asked media agencies to share their thoughts on Barb’s development.
Dylan Pritchard, head of audiovisual, Bicycle
“It’s a significant and welcome step forward towards standardised, cross-platform measurement. For advertisers, this brings much-needed clarity, allowing for more direct ‘apples to apples’ comparisons between linear TV and YouTube on the biggest screens in the home.
“While the methodology provides a robust foundation, we must acknowledge its current scope.
“Measuring 200 channels on TV sets is a valuable snapshot, not a complete picture of total YouTube consumption, which remains heavily fragmented across millions of channels and mobile devices.
“Early findings seem to reinforce the distinct roles of these platforms: broadcast TV delivers unparalleled mass reach, while YouTube on TV can offer valuable incremental reach, particularly with younger audiences.
“It’s about leveraging this enhanced data to find the most effective and efficient blend of both, ensuring every pound of investment drives the greatest impact.”
Ian Daley, AV investment lead, the7stars
“The more independent viewing data out there, the better.
“In the last two months alone, Barb, Ofcom and the IPA have all released major updates that enable planners and advertisers to understand current-day TV consumption in detail.
“None of it is perfect and some of it is open to misinterpretation — but, by and large, the industry is better off for having multiple sources of reliable and robust consumption data.
“Clever planners and agencies will be using these datasets to triangulate the reality and find smarter, more effective ways of reaching audiences.”
Lisa Morgan, managing director, Generation Media
“The inclusion of YouTube viewing on TV sets in Barb’s measurement is a huge and long overdue step for the industry. It goes some way in answering how audiences, particularly younger, harder-to-reach demos, are consuming video content today.
“At Generation Media, we have partnered Giraffe Insights for nearly a decade to bridge the gap in traditional measurement, especially when it comes to children’s media habits. The fact that such a high proportion of the YouTube data shared by Barb is driven by kids viewing is borne out in the studies we have carried out over this period.
“Our latest research shows that 43% of 2- to 12-year-olds are watching YouTube via the TV set — even higher at the younger end. As these behaviours mature with the audience, the need for accurate and inclusive measurement becomes even more critical.
“For too long, linear and BVOD platforms have been measured in isolation, without accounting for YouTube’s dominance in the video ecosystem. Including it in Barb’s data provides a far more holistic view of total video consumption, allowing for a meaningful reach comparison rather than equating YouTube views to unique sets of eyeballs.
“It means advertisers can now compare like for like when assessing reach and engagement across platforms, and broadcasters can better demonstrate the value of their premium, brand-safe environments.
“Ultimately, better, comparable data helps agencies make smarter decisions for clients, with content quality, context and effectiveness front of mind.”
Rhys Westwell, head, Performics
“It marks solid progress in acknowledging how audiences now consume video, moving beyond linear TV to include CTV, streaming and digital-first publishers.
“However, tracking just 200 YouTube channels on TV only scratches the surface of the platform’s true scale and complexity.
“More importantly, it misses the largest shift in viewing habits: the fragmented, high-volume consumption happening on mobile and other devices.
“To plan effectively in today’s digital-first landscape, the industry needs more comprehensive, cross-platform measurement. This includes understanding total video consumption, incremental reach across screens and publishers, and the quality of attention different formats generate.
“While this is a good first step, to fully address the evolving landscape, measurement must continue to evolve. It needs to cover more channels, more devices and provide deeper insights into how much attention these formats are driving.”
Kieren Mills, head of broadcast, Mediaplus UK
“Let’s not get too excited.
“Yes, it’s nice to know more about what’s being watched and greater cross-screen measurement is generally good for advertisers and media planners. But beyond the kids’ content insights, there’s not much here from an advertising perspective.
“In a week where the Women’s Euros was seen by 16m viewers at once and Happy Gilmore racked up 4.2m views, knowing the Sidemen received 0.005% share of TV viewing doesn’t really improve my advertising planning.
“It’s highlighted the real strength of YouTube is in its platform scale across both premium and non-premium content, and its role in combined video advertising coverage when integrated with traditional TV and BVOD.
“What the industry needs is unified advertising measurement that spans across TV, BVOD and YouTube, helping advertisers understand total reach and frequency across all screens, not just TV sets.
“Channel data is a nice-to-know. Ultimately, the goal is to unify advertising metrics and give advertisers a clear view of where their audiences are and how they can cost-effectively reach them across all platforms.”
Steve Taylor, head of strategy, Mediahub
“YouTube is ‘a mile wide and an inch deep’ — even Peppa Pig makes it to only 1.2% of individuals aged four-plus.
“Looking at the top 200 channels doesn’t make a compelling case for YouTube to advertisers selling anything to anyone except small children.
“But there’s much more to YouTube than CTV. Reach, frequency, currency and equivalence are all great concepts. But advertisers want sales. And YouTube more than pulls its weight in marketing mix modelling and incremental testing.
“That doesn’t contradict the Barb data. It reflects a tension between what planners want YouTube to be (more like telly, with channels and quality control and deeply engaging long-form content), and therefore what Barb is measuring, versus what YouTube really is (more like social media with an endless stream of clips of variable quality and sometimes highly questionable provenance).
“Deals by Channel 4 and ITV to distribute content on YouTube while retaining inventory control show that resolving this tension is possible. Here, channel measurement makes sense. But elsewhere, we still need a different planning lens.”
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