Comscore, Iris.TV Enable CTV Contextual Targeting

Comscore said that its brand safety and contextual categorization segments are available in Iris.TV’s Contextual Video Marketplace.

The move extends Comscore’s contextual targeting to the fast-growing connected TV marketplace.

With linear TV viewing shrinking advertisers are looking to move ad dollars to CTV to reach cord cutters. Those advertisers are looking to put their dollars in places that offer brand safety, privacy protections and transparency.

Related: Comscore in Breakthrough Deal for Comcast TV Data

“In order for CTV advertising to reach its full potential, the market is demanding trusted third party partners to give publishers the confidence to surface their most valuable inventory programmatically and give advertisers confidence in adoption of the new medium,” said Todd Randak, senior VP of corporate strategy at Telaria. “Comscore and Iris.TV’s partnership is exciting and uniquely positioned to bring this trend to fruition.”

Comscore’s says its contextual technology goes beyond keyword-only-based targeting for comprehensive content insights.

“With the advancements in CTV, it is especially critical that media buyers be able to trust that their brand safety and content categorization solutions provide the highest standards of accuracy,” said Rachel Gantz, general manager, activation solutions for Comscore. “Relying on technology that knows the difference between apple, the fruit, and Apple, the multinational technology company, is critical. Comscore is thrilled to partner with IRIS.TV to provide advertisers with the tools to have more confidence in their CTV advertising while providing publishers with a better way to monetize the full extent of their CTV inventory.”

Iris.TV will offer Comscore’s contextual data via its marketplace for both direct and private marketplace deals being executed via supply-side platforms.

“CTV continues to play an increasingly prominent role in media, and the industry is constantly looking for the next trusted third-party brand-safe and contextual solution to apply criteria across all platforms," said Richie Hyden, co-founder and COO at Iris.TV. “With Comscore, we are excited to be leading the charge on bringing privacy-focused connected TV targeting to market and are looking forward to continuing to expand this relationship over the next year.”

Iris.TV launched its Contextual Video Marketplace in 2019.

“With new privacy standards coming about just as CTV is becoming mainstream, contextual targeting solutions for CTV are critical for media buyers to ensure their advertising is privacy-forward and surfacing in safe and contextually relevant environments,” said Jeremy Steinberg, global head of ecosystem at MediaMath. “MediaMath has a long-standing relationship with Sources partner Iris.TV which began with investment by our venture capital arm MathCapital and evolved into co-launching the industry’s first buy-side video contextual targeting solution for programmatic video. We’re excited for Iris.TV and Comscore’s partnership to enable advertisers with consistent and trusted applications across digital, mobile, and CTV.”

“Accurate brand safety and contextual solutions for CTV and premium video have been the white whale of ad tech for the past few years,” added David Clutter, VP, head of demand at Beachfront Media. “Comscore and Iris.TV’s new partnership is a giant step toward the kind of privacy-friendly and precise contextual targeting that premium video publishers and advertisers are demanding – and a huge step forward for the industry overall.”

Steinberg will be among the speakers at the Advanced Advertising Summit being presented by B+C publisher Future plc on March 24.

Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.