--- title: Measure TV Outcomes, But Don’t Guarantee Them description: Measurement of outcomes provides proof that media money is well spent. But media sellers being asked to guarantee this is a step too far. image: https://www.tvisioninsights.com/hubfs/BLOG_MeasureTVOutcomesButDontGuarantee.jpg --- [![TVision Logo](https://www.tvisioninsights.com/hs-fs/hubfs/TVision%20Brand%20Guidelines/TVision_logo_color_rgb_whiteText.png?width=1804&height=202&name=TVision_logo_color_rgb_whiteText.png "TVision Logo")](https://www.tvisioninsights.com/) Blog  |   News # Measure TV Outcomes, But Don’t Guarantee Them By Luke McGuinness, President   |   April 26   |   Blog  |   News [Published in Broadcasting & Cable](https://www.broadcastingcable.com/blog/measure-tv-outcomes-but-dont-guarantee-them) At AdExchanger’s recent [Industry Preview](https://industrypreview.com/) conference, I watched a panel of sales execs from Turner, Hulu, NBC, and Viacom discuss the future of TV. One key theme was that advertisers are asking for *guaranteed* business outcomes for their TV ad spend. On its surface, this might not seem unfair. Smart media sellers are accountable to their clients, and they work hard to help them achieve their marketing goals. If they don’t, their advertisers will simply go elsewhere. Everyone should measure outcomes, if they can. The great work being done by [Data+Math and others](https://www.adweek.com/tv-video/nbcuniversal-expands-partnership-with-data-plus-math-to-offer-deeper-consumer-analysis/) is a boon for the industry. Measurement of outcomes is important and provides media buyers with concrete proof that their spend is money well spent, and it useful data to justify continued investment and/or reallocation. But media sellers being asked to guarantee this is, generally speaking, a step too far. After all, it’s the marketer’s job to persuade audiences to buy. Even if the TV seller does everything *right*, its ability to generate sales hinges on a host of factors outside its control. In fact, a study from Nielsen Catalina found that 47% of the sales lift created by an effective TV ad [can be attributed to the quality of the creative](https://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2017/when-it-comes-to-advertising-effectiveness-what-is-key.html) -- an aspect networks have nothing to do with. If media sellers are asked to guarantee results they don’t actually have control over, they shouldn’t agree to do so. And if they want to provide real accountability, they should focus instead on guaranteeing metrics they actually have control over. **Conversions are a team effort - and responsibility should be split accordingly.** To find metrics that make sense for TV sellers to guarantee, let’s first break down which actions are required to create a conversion -- and which parties are responsible for executing them. In essence, the path to driving a sale from a TV ad is comprised of four key steps: **1. Tuning** -- Before anything else can happen, the media seller needs to make sure people are tuning to their content. If no one tunes in, the ad is dead on arrival. It is entirely the Network’s responsibility to drive tuning. **2. Opportunity to View** -- Once the content is turned on, someone has to be there to see the ad. Again, the Network is in the best place to affect this outcome. If they’re programming compelling content, people will stay in the room and tuned to the content. If not, the viewer is more apt to walk away or tune away while the ad is running. Meanwhile, it’s the advertiser’s responsibility to run their ads in the right places, and use creatives that keep viewers in the room. This requires strategic foresight and a thoughtful analysis of TV viewership data. **3. Attention** -- Advertising is obviously most impactful when the viewer is actually paying attention to the creative. Attention is primarily captured through compelling creative by the advertiser, but is also impacted by the attention they are paying to the surrounding programming. **4. Conversion** -- Lastly, the advertiser needs to persuade the customer to buy its product. It’s not enough to have a message people pay attention to -- it has to effectively push the consumer to take action. This part is entirely out of the Networks’ hands. **Finding a guarantee that works.** The steps to conversion are executed by a combination of media seller and advertiser efforts. Media sellers have greater responsibility earlier in the process, with advertisers picking up the baton at the end. In the middle, both sides play a role as responsibilities shift. Rather than trying to guarantee a late-stage outcome, which sellers don’t have control over, they should be asked to focus on the aspects they can honestly promise to deliver. In practice, this means guaranteeing that the advertiser gets the opportunity to persuade the viewer. Put crudely, it’s the media seller’s job to put butts on couches, and advertisers should evaluate them by how well they do this. Otherwise, marketers will be holding their network partners to unreasonable standards and throwing out perfectly good media sellers due to their own inability turn the viewer into a paying customer. With TVision, advertisers have all of the metrics they need to hold their media sellers accountable in a way that is accurate and fair for both parties. By measuring how people actually watch TV, on a second-by-second, person-by-person basis, we’re able to see when consumers are in the room and ready to be converted. From there, it’s up to the advertiser. [![TV and CTV Attention Report](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/3023204/5eeec174-ffb8-4a4a-81d3-9e747704521a.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3023204/5eeec174-ffb8-4a4a-81d3-9e747704521a) ![LinkedIn](https://www.tvisioninsights.com/hubfs/Assets%202018%20-%20S2/illustrations-icons/linkedin-icon.png) ![Twitter](https://www.tvisioninsights.com/hubfs/Assets%202018%20-%20S2/illustrations-icons/twitter-icon.png) ![Facebook](https://www.tvisioninsights.com/hubfs/Assets%202018%20-%20S2/illustrations-icons/fb-icon.png) ## More resources from TVision [blog](https://www.tvisioninsights.com/resources/tag/blog) [TVision's New TV Attention and Creative Impact Report](https://www.tvisioninsights.com/resources/tvisions-new-tv-attention-and-creative-impact-report) Today TVision, the company measuring every second of TV and CTV viewer engagement, released the H2 2025 State of Streaming Report. The semi-annual State of Streaming Report is the industry's best resource for insight into attention and engagement with streaming apps, content and ads. [Read More](https://www.tvisioninsights.com/resources/tvisions-new-tv-attention-and-creative-impact-report) [blog](https://www.tvisioninsights.com/resources/tag/blog) [TVision Insights Enters Definitive Agreement to Be Acquired by Viant Technology](https://www.tvisioninsights.com/resources/tvision-insights-enters-definitive-agreement-to-be-acquired-by-viant-technology) Today TVision, the company measuring every second of TV and CTV viewer engagement, announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Viant Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: DSP), a leader in CTV and AI-powered programmatic advertising, in a transaction valued at $40 million. The deal, expected to close in Q2 2026, brings TVision's second-by-second, person-level attention data, co-viewership signals, and in-room presence measurement directly into Viant's buying platform. [Read More](https://www.tvisioninsights.com/resources/tvision-insights-enters-definitive-agreement-to-be-acquired-by-viant-technology) [blog](https://www.tvisioninsights.com/resources/tag/blog) [TVision's New State of Streaming Report Reveals How Context, Pod Position and More Impact Viewer Engagement](https://www.tvisioninsights.com/resources/tvisions-new-state-of-streaming-report-h2-2025) Today TVision, the company measuring every second of TV and CTV viewer engagement, released the H2 2025 State of Streaming Report. The semi-annual State of Streaming Report is the industry's best resource for insight into attention and engagement with streaming apps, content and ads. [Read More](https://www.tvisioninsights.com/resources/tvisions-new-state-of-streaming-report-h2-2025) [![The TV and CTV Attention Report](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/3023204/6b181378-6650-4289-8bad-aa2394689443.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3023204/6b181378-6650-4289-8bad-aa2394689443) ### Find Your Brand's TV Performance Or try these: [Geico](https://www.tvisioninsights.com/search-results?brand=Geico), [Amazon](https://www.tvisioninsights.com/search-results?brand=Amazon), [Progressive](https://www.tvisioninsights.com/search-results?brand=Progressive), [State Farm](https://www.tvisioninsights.com/search-results?brand=State%20Farm), [T-Mobile](https://www.tvisioninsights.com/search-results?brand=T-Mobile) ## Get in Touch Need more info, have a question or want a demo? Tell us a little bit more and we'll respond shortly. ## Stay Up to Date The TV landscape is changing quickly. 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