Lack of Free Streaming Metrics Leads to Misinformation
The need for consistent and relevant free streaming metrics is a topic Variety Intelligence Platform has noted since 2020.
Not only is the lack of published metrics for the likes of Pluto TV, Roku Channel, Samsung TV Plus, Tubi and Freevee problematic for FAST channel providers looking to legitimize the medium to attract more advertisers with actual real figures, but it opens the space up to third-party data providers looking to capitalize on the interest in the space.
The problem here is that what ends up published and then cited by industry sources is often erroneous and conveying an inaccurate picture of the FAST market. Recent reports have stated such things as that TelevisaUnivison’s Spanish-only service Vix has several English channels (it doesn’t), which is a perfect example of an issue caused by data-scraping channel names and not checking to see what language they operate in if a channel has the same name in English or Spanish.