Warner Bros. Discovery and VideoAmp sign 3-year measurement and currency deal
Illustration by Dave Cole / Getty / Shutterstock / The Current
VideoAmp and Warner Bros. Discovery are teaming up on a three-year currency and measurement deal.
This partnership builds on earlier work focused on reach and frequency, evolving into a full-stack integration with WBD’s tech solutions. WBD will continue to use VideoAmp’s advanced data and measurement solutions across linear, digital and streaming to simplify media planning, activation, measurement and optimization for buyers.
The announcement comes as upfront deals are being finalized, signaling continued momentum for VideoAmp and the industry’s gradual shift toward alternative currencies.
“It’s an acknowledgment by one of the largest studios and largest media companies on the planet that alternative currencies are here to stay,” VideoAmp Chief Revenue Officer Bryan Goski tells The Current. “They’re putting the weight of not only their sales efforts, but their media and their content behind that.”
WBD introduced tech tools NEO and DemoDirect at its upfront presentation, following the late-2024 launch of StreamX, its flagship converged media solution. All three tools are designed to offer greater transparency and give buyers direct access to WBD’s premium inventory, with VideoAmp’s data serving as a foundational layer.
“VideoAmp helps us measure what actually works — across every screen, every audience and every dollar spent — which will be more important as the industry gears up for the next TV buying season,” David Porter, WBD’s head of ad sales research, data and insights, said in a press release.
VideoAmp secured over $3 billion in upfront deals in 2024 — an 880% increase from 2023. Goski expects that number to climb again in 2025, though it’s still too early to report by how much.
The currency and measurement provider now holds multiyear deals with major publishers like NBCUniversal, Paramount, Fox, A&E and TelevisaUnivision, along with all of the major agency holding companies.
Goski says this shift reflects a broader industry pivot away from panel-only measurement toward big data. This has prompted some clients to explore switching whole networks to VideoAmp for demo and data-driven linear (DDL) transactions, according to Goski.
“[These companies] can’t forecast their revenue, and it’s existential to their bottom line,” he says.
One measurement insider told The Current that it’s no secret Nielsen is under fire because “introducing big data and preserving trends are paradoxical.”
WBD leaders said earlier this year that they are measurement agnostic and support a multicurrency world. While Nielsen is still the dominant player in the currency space, its competitors are working to take a bigger piece of the pie.
“VideoAmp has been producing video measurement based on big data for years,” the source added. “They’ve become the leading ‘alternative currency.’ While change is always difficult, programmers like WBD are realizing that it’s time to take alternatives seriously.”