Broadcasters Accuse YouTube of ‘Massaging’ Viewing Figures to Boost Ad Business
YouTube has been accused of “massaging” viewing figures to boost its advertising business in a major row with British broadcasters.
The Google-owned video sharing platform is currently in discussions with the Broadcasters Audience Research Board (Barb) about signing up to the official TV ratings agency.
But the talks have descended into a row after Barb accused the US tech firm of failing to comply with industry standards for audience measurement.
Barb is jointly owned by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, Sky and the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA).
The revelations have led to a stand-off between the two sides and sparked accusations that YouTube has been misleading advertisers.
A source at one broadcaster said: “By not adhering to what is already a low standard and going even lower, you are basically massaging the numbers to make YouTube look better in terms of its audiences compared to TV than it really is. And that’s trying to influence spending decisions.”
YouTube uses Barb data in its planning tool, which is used by advertisers and media agencies to help decide how much money to spend on the platform.
But the agency is understood to have accused YouTube of failing to adhere to Media Rating Council (MRC) standards for online video, which dictate that an advert is viewed if it appears in its entirety on a user’s screen for two seconds.
That is despite public statements by Phil Miles, YouTube’s head of sales in the UK and Ireland, in support of the standards.
A senior industry source described the revelations as a “scandalous abuse of trust by YouTube”.
The source added: “They advocate for MRC standards publicly, but ignore this for the data that feeds the planning tool they use to persuade advertisers to increase investment in YouTube.”
YouTube said it was fully transparent about its viewer data and intended to adopt MRC standards.
The row threatens to derail YouTube’s bid to be covered by Barb, which was first revealed by The Telegraph earlier this year.
Source: The Telegraph
