Canadian media buyers, broadcasters and tech companies can now receive a steady feed of Numeris TV ratings data straight to their own analytics dashboards, rather than relying on Numeris audience reports to manually track media performance.
The technology to get digital updates on Numeris ratings is available from NLogic, a software subsidiary that was spun out from the non-profit ratings provider in 2006 (and rebranded last year following BBM’s rebrand as Numeris). NLogic has created an API (applications programming interface) that allows partners to plug into its database, which contains Numeris’ most up-to-date data, so they can get the latest viewership numbers delivered to whatever reporting dashboard they want to use.
While it might seem like a small development, the API marks the first time Canada’s broadcast industry has had customizable digital access to ratings data from Numeris. Though Numeris does provide its data directly to other measurement providers like Nielsen, NLogic says it is the first authorized distributor to offer an API for partners to integrate with directly.
“It’s never been done before partly because the Canadian TV market is very complicated, and it’s some of the most difficult data in the world to handle,” said NLogic president and COO David Phillips. “We’ve solved that problem, and now it can integrate with all sorts of different systems.”
With the new API, advertisers and broadcasters will be able to view ratings alongside performance data from other channels to get a more holistic view of how campaigns are performing, Phillips said. Numeris’ TV data is now available through the API, and by the end of the year Canadian radio data will also be available.
NLogic’s ultimate aim is to reduce the amount of time and energy that planners and broadcasters spend on analyzing media performance, so they can spend that time instead doing more important research into how brands are impacted by media. “It’s great to know who saw something or who listened to something, but what’s really useful is what happened as a result — what action did they take,” Phillips said. “The API is a step towards that, by freeing up time they’re currently spending on manual work to start answering those questions.”
NLogic named two technology partners that it’s currently working with on tools for reporting viewership data more effectively. One of them is a Toronto-based data visualization firm called Dapresy, and the other is Dimensional Strategies, a business intelligence and applications developer specializing in Microsoft enterprise tools.
Phillips said NLogic hopes to work with a lot more providers including agencies, broadcasters and large-scale media planning software providers like Mediaocean and WideOrbit. In the long-term, he said NLogic also plans to share its data with programmatic video buying platforms like TubeMogul and Videology. Not only can TV viewership data be tied to audiences online for better demographic targeting, but eventually it will be used to power programmatic TV spot buying, something that a lot of tech firms have been working hard to develop in the U.S.
