Business

The TV Convergence Working Group–an omnibus industry group comprised of nine leading associations for advertisers, ad agencies, media distribution companies, broadcasters and independent production and postproduction companies–has approved a set of digital video file deliverable specifications designed to simplify the distribution of digital ad content across media platforms.

The Working Group addressed specific areas the organizations have identified as being critical for meeting the ever-growing digital appetite of marketers and consumers. These included not just file delivery specifications but also advertising metadata and audio specifications and best practices for both High Definition and Standard Definition video. The file specs also include an embedded Ad-ID identifier, which supports a range of workflow improvements.

The task force was launched in early 2017 to standardize the distribution specs for video ads to streamline cross-platform video delivery. After months of research and discussion, the group arrived at a set of delivery specs for digital video which it believes are well-suited to handle the large majority of spots seen on broadcast and cable TV, on the internet and on mobile devices.

To date, a number of media distribution companies have endorsed these specs and agreed to accept them as a current de facto industry standard. This group includes Adstream, Comcast Ad Delivery, Extreme Reach, Fotokem, Sound80, Spot Traffic, Syncro Services and Yangaroo.

The TV Convergence Working Group behind this effort included representatives from AICP, the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s Technology Lab, the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4As), the Digital Production Partnership, Ltd. (DPP), the North American Broadcasters Association (NABA), the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM), the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) and Ad-iD, the service launched by ANA and the 4As to identify and track advertising assets across all media channels.

“By using the AICP File Deliverable Specifications, any entity engaged in the production or postproduction of digital video ad content will benefit from a simplified, more uniform process of encoding and uploading files,” said Ryan Schnizlein, chair of AICP’s Technical Committee and chief technology officer at Cutters Studios. “This move will go a long way to clarify a marketplace situation that’s needlessly inefficient and complicated, adding time and cost to the advertising supply chain.”