VideoHub, a division of Tremor Video, and Nielsen, are giving VideoHub customers access to Nielsen Online Campaign Ratings gross rating points via VideoHub for Advertisers. The collaboration gives advertisers a single metric for their gross reach – that is, the total number of people exposed to an ad–as well as effective reach. This is first time Nielsen has integrated its GRP data with an online video advertising platform.

Closer to TV

This inaugural move suggests that  online video measurement is finally moving closer to television, writes BeetTV, as GRPs are the currency of the TV business.

Media buyers have been making the case that if online video is to grow, the measurement needs to be consistent, it pointed out.

Video Ads Gaining Acceptance

The move also comes as video ads are gaining more acceptance among consumers and media buyers. Recent data from FreeWheel, showed that video ad views have grown at a faster rate than video views (128% vs. 97%) from Q3 2010 to Q3 2011.

Overall, the volume of videos viewed has risen from 6 billion to 11.8 billion year-over-year, while the volume of video ad views has risen from 3.1 billion to 7.2 billion during the same time period.

Even more encouragingly for video advertisers, although ad loads have increased, video ad completion rates have remained stable, indicating that viewers are becoming more comfortable with the increased number of ads in return for viewing valued content.