To help media companies gain additional perspective and become more sophisticated in how they manage video ad revenues and user experiences, FreeWheel has published a new “Tracking Metrics” report. It lays out 4 different ways media companies can measure their OTT video businesses to improve monetization and user experiences. The four metrics focus on Revenue (fill rate), Viewer Experience (repeating ads and audience targeting) and delivering value to advertisers (ad consumption).

For revenue, the report describes how fill rates can be looked at in multiple ways for long-form video. These can include duration based (length of ads served/length of available breaks), quantity based (number of ads served/maximum number of ads available) or a combination of the two. It describes other factors affecting the ways to calculate fill rate.

Looking at the viewer experience by number of repeating ads is another valuable tracking metric. An ad can repeat itself back-to-back or play multiple times in the same position in several breaks. The report says that repeats are often due to overlapping placements of same creative, sharing inventory absent a common ID or deficient integration with the video player or ad stitcher.

The report also describes a viewer experience tracking metric focused on audience targeting. This metric can be diminished when the user ID isn’t available for ad requests which could be due to privacy regulations, user state not being recognized or data rights being limited.

Last, the report identifies delivering value to advertisers, as measured by ad consumption, as an important tracking metric. Ad consumption can be misreported by the video player, due to event beacons not firing properly. The report recommends monitoring beacons and consistency of campaign reports for optimal results.

FreeWheel’s new metrics report is a useful tool for media companies to ensure they’re delivering the most value to both viewers and advertisers. As video ad revenues become more important for all media companies, following these best practice will be helpful to all.

The tracking metrics report is a complimentary download.