drmetrix

Strategic Edge: DTC Advertisers Capitalize on Lesser-Known Linear TV Units

Joseph Gray , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

When it comes to buying national linear cable TV advertising, traditional national units aren’t the only option. Many leading direct-to-consumer (DTC) television advertisers are turning to a lesser-known option called “DPI” units. These DPI units offer substantial savings, often discounted by as much as 90% compared to regular national unit rates. This discount exists because DPI units are subject to local market cover-up by multiple video programming distributors (MVPDs) such as Comcast, Charter, DirecTV, Dish, YouTube TV, and others.  [For a more detailed explanation, please click here.]

DRMetrix is one of the only competitive television media research providers tracking DPI unit airings across more than 160 national networks. As competitive intelligence becomes increasingly critical, DPI unit tracking is a key component of strategic planning for brands. The chart below highlights 20 of the top DTC television brands that heavily invested in DPI units in 2024. For instance, DRMetrix’s data shows that 31% of 4-imprint’s national linear ad units are DPI units. Care.com leads the pack, with 58% of their total national linear units being DPI units.

It’s important to note that DPI units are not yet rated by any currency provider. However, advertisers are increasingly using a combination of deterministic and probabilistic methods to link DPI unit purchases to measurable business outcomes. This approach has gained significant adoption, with DTC television brands purchasing nearly 3 million DPI units from national cable networks in 2024 alone. Among the nearly 1,300 brands that bought national DPI units in 2024, 568 of them ran campaigns where DPI units accounted for 20% or more of their total ad placements.  For more information, and to discover how many DPI units your competitors are purchasing, please email [email protected]

 

 

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iSpot Acquires DRMetrix To Bolster DTC, Direct Response Offerings and Addressable Advertising Capabilities

Joseph Gray , , , , , , , ,

 

BELLEVUE — Oct. 11th, 2021 — iSpot.tv, the real-time platform for measuring the business and brand impact of cross-platform TV advertising, today announced the acquisition of DRMetrix, a real-time TV ad measurement company specializing in products for direct-to-consumer and direct-response TV advertisers. 

The deal expands iSpot’s measurement of emerging formats for addressable advertising and enhances its ability to track rotating calls-to-actions, including website URLs, SMS and toll-free numbers. This capability — coupled with iSpot’s ability to track distinct creatives at scale and correlate ad exposures to conversion events such as digital actions and in-store traffic — gives brands of all sizes the expanded ability to measure the business impact of complex and dynamic ad buys across platforms. 

“iSpot is constantly investing in the development and acquisition of technologies required to accurately measure the TV advertising of tomorrow,” says Sean Muller, founder and CEO of iSpot. “DRMetrix has developed unique and real-time measurement capabilities around creative versioning and dynamic advertising that will become increasingly important as the TV ad market evolves.” 

DRMetrix’s AdSphere™ developed a measurement system for monitoring all TV ad formats and executions including those delivered via digital program insertion (DPI) ad breaks. The DPI measurement capabilities allow precise identification of ad creatives that are sold by the cable networks as “cover-ups,” which MVPDs inconsistently overlay with their own inventories. 

This inventory, which includes addressable and local advertising, creates a continuous blind spot for networks, agencies and brands. The cover-ups are a favorite means for DTC and DR advertisers to invest in and test television, as they often come at a heavy discount. But both the buy and sell side struggle to accurately quantify the performance and value of this inventory because, until the combination of DRMetrix and iSpot, they could not be measured precisely at scale. 

“We developed a unique system for accurately measuring one of the most dynamic and difficult portions of TV advertising, and we amassed a client base that represents a growing and important part of the TV ecosystem,” says Joseph Gray, founder/CEO of DRMetrix. “In iSpot, we’ve found a home for our innovations to thrive and a vehicle to accelerate our shared goals of making all TV ad measurement more transparent, more actionable and easier.”

The combined capability will also create cost savings for advertisers that traditionally rely on spike analysis, rotating phone numbers and links as the primary means for attribution.

DRMetrix serves 120 brands, networks and agencies, growing iSpot’s customer footprint to more than 450 annual brand subscriptions representing 60%+ of brands in the Ad Age 100 and 95% of TV networks in North America. This is iSpot’s second acquisition of a real-time ad measurement company. It acquired Ace Metrix in January to combine business and brand impact using Ace’s comprehensive qualitative approach to measurement and scoring of creative performance. 

About iSpot

iSpot.tv is the market leader in real-time cross-platform TV ad measurement and attribution. The company’s always-on platform measures the business impact and brand impact of TV advertising and offers fast, accurate and actionable information that empowers brands to justify and optimize TV and video investments.

iSpot persistently measures TV-device impressions and second-by-second attention for all TV ads in a unified manner across linear, time-shifted, VOD and streaming environments. iSpot’s Ace Metrix product measures brand perceptions for TV and video creatives using rapid qualitative panels, and its market-leading attribution solution enables advertisers and TV networks to plan, optimize and transact on business outcomes. 

iSpot delivers its solution in real time via intuitive and modern dashboards as well as APIs and customized analytics. iSpot.tv has hundreds of brands and all major TV networks licensing its enterprise solution and has become a trusted currency for both networks and brands. Founded in Bellevue, Washington in 2013, iSpot has offices in major cities across America.

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