Glossary of Industry Terminology

 

 

This Glossary was originally developed in 2008/9 by the OTT.X (then EMA) Digital Council and is a living document.  It was most recently updated in December 2021.  (Thanks to Anthony Layser/Xumo, Bruce Eisen/Eisen Law, and Jason Peterson/Go Digital Media Group for your help!)  Please submit updates and additions to mfisher@ottx.org for vetting.

 

 

 CONTENTS:

 

TECHNICAL

 

A

AAF (Advanced Authoring Format): Refers to the standardized metadata definitions that are used to exchange metadata between creative content workstations. This “format” has been created primarily for postproduction use. The AAF includes a rich set of composition metadata that can be used to describe the components making up a program or production.

Abort:   When a web server does not successfully transfer a unit of content or an ad to a browser, often caused by a user activity.  Also called Failed Play Start.

ACR (Automatic Content Recognition}: The ability for a smart TV (with permission) to capture a few pixels of what is being displayed and match those pixels to a database to determine viewing behavior and demographics, as well as ad performance, on a second-by-second basis.

Adobe Flash Player: A lightweight browser plug-in and rich internet application runtime that delivers consistent and engaging user experiences, stunning audio/video playback, and pervasive reach. It is the foundation of the next generation of Adobe Flash Platform, built on open technologies and open-source community participation.

AGC (Automatic Gain Control): A circuit which automatically adjusts the input gain of a device, in order to provide a safe and consistent signal level. AGCs can be handy features, but professional applications often require manual gain control for optimum results.

Alpha Channel: A special channel in some digital images reserved for transparency information.

Amperage: The amount of electrical current transferred from one component to another.

Ambient: The environmental conditions, e.g. surrounding light and sound.

Anonymizer: An intermediary which prevents web sites from seeing a user’s internet protocol (IP) address.

Aperture: Literally means “opening”. The camera iris; the opening which lets light through the lens. By adjusting the size of the aperture, the amount of incoming light is controlled. The aperture size is measured in f-stops.

API (Application Programming Interface): Software that enables different software programs to interact with each other using computer language.

App Store Optimization:  The process of improving the visibility of an app in an app store.

Artifacting: The introduction of a visible or audible anomaly during the processing or transmission of digital data by the compression algorithm (CODEC).

ASF: Windows Media file format ending with the extension .asf. Used for delivering streaming video.

Aspect Ratio: The ratio of width to height of an image. Can be expressed as a number, or a relationship between two numbers. For example, the standard television screen ratio is 4:3 (4 units wide by 3 units high) or 1.33 (the width is 1.33 times the height). The new “wide screen” television ratio is 16:9 (1.78), and many new video cameras have the option to record using this format. Theatrical film aspect ratios vary, but the most common is 18.5:10 (1.85).

Asset: An original source or a high-quality digital content element that can be integrated into a larger work.

ASX: Windows Media file format ending with the extension .asx. This is a metafile which works in conjunction with ASF files for delivering streaming video.

Authenicated Viewing:  A consumer’s ability to access television content online after logging into a host site and receiving authorization through their cable network

AVI {Audio Video Interleaved): A common digital video format, in which the audio is interleaved as “packets”, into the video frames.

B

Bandwidth: A measure of the amount of data that can travel through a network. Once measured in kilobits per second (Kbps), megabits (1 million bits) per second are more relevant in the broadband era.

Bit Rate: The number of bits transmitted per second. Dial-up maxes out at 56 kilobits per second while broadband via DSL, cable modem, fiber optic cable or WiFi can transmit anywhere from 400k to 8 megabit per second and beyond.

Buffering: A process used as a part of streaming media technologies whereby a certain amount of data is fed into the player to allow it to begin playing before fully downloading the file.

Byte: One of the basic units for measuring digital information, especially relevant to understanding storage capacity on computer disks. 8 bits comprise a byte. Roughly 1000 bytes equals one kilobyte. 1000 kilobytes is one megabyte or meg. 1000 megabytes is a gigabyte. 1000 gigabytes is a terabyte.

C

Cache: Memory used to temporarily store the most frequently requested Internet content/files/pages in order to speed its delivery to the user’s browser,

Cache Busting: Using a unique file identifier to tell the browser that a new version of a file is available and not to retrieve the old file from cache.

Capture (a.k.a. ingest): The process of digitizing audio and video content from an analog format.

CDN (Content Delivery Network): A geographically distributed group of servers that work together to provide fast delivery of Internet content to end users by caching highly used content close to the user

Cloud Video Distribution: The process of storing videos on internet servers to be accessed by viewers without downloading the video file to a local hard drive.

Codec (Coder/Decoder):  Software or driver that adds support for certain video/audio formats to an operating system.  An operating system using a codec will recognize the format the codec is built for and “decode” it allowing you to play the audio/video file, or in some cases it will change the file format (“encode“) allowing it to play.  The most commonly used codecs are installed automatically on most computers.  Examples of codecs are MPEG-2, DivX, and MPEG-1.

Compression:  Reducing the quantity of data used to represent digtal video images by removing redundancies in digital data files so that less space is required.  Two main forms of compression are lossy and lossless.  Lossless compression takes away only a certain amount of data so that it can be returned to its original complete state, while lossy compression will sacrifice more data to further reduce space.   MPEG-4 is an example of a lossy compression.

Container:  A “wrapper” format that defines how the video, audio and other data is stored within the container, but doesn’t define which compression formats or codecs are included with the video file.

CSS (Constant Scramble System): The protection system that prevents movies from being illegally duplicated, protecting the intellectual property of the manufacturers, producers and writers of audiovisual content from theft. CSS is a two-part system for which manufacturers of both the movie content and hardware or software (players) purchase licenses.

D

Data Rate: An attribute assigned to a media file by a compression utility. It is a measure of the amount of digital information transmitted in a given unit of time—usually a second. Thus, a video could be encoded to play back at a rate of 500 kb/s.

DIAL (DIscovery And Launch): A simple protocol that 2nd screen devices can use to discover and launch apps on 1st screen devices.

Digital Video Server: A robust, dedicated computer at a central location that receives command requests from the viewer through a video-on-demand application and then broadcasts specific video streams to that viewer.

Download:  The process of copying data files from a server to a playback device.

DVI (Digital Video Interface): A uniform connector that can accommodate both digital and analog video signals, often used between computers and monitors.  The DVI connector on a device is given one of three names, depending on which signal it implements (DVI-D for digital only, DVI-A for analog only, DVI-I for both digital and analog, and DVI-DL for a connector that includes a second data link for high resolution displays.  ALT: An interface standard for connecting both analog and digital monitors. It offers a high bandwidth for uncompressed digital data transfer, and can carry digital copy protection.

E

EIDR (Entertainment Identifier Registry):  Body that manages the issuance of universal identifiers for a broad array of audio-visual objects.

Embed Tag: An HTML tag used to place a media file (such as an audio, video, or Flash file) into a web page. The embed tag defines an area on the page in which the media file will appear if it involves graphic elements, helps the browser understand what type of file it is, and specifies other info such as whether the file will play automatically when the page loads. Embedded media are contrasted to media controlled through a separate player, such as when the Windows Media player pops up over your web browser to display a video.

Encode: Compressing a file (audio, video or picture) into another format, usually taking up less space.  Common video encoding methods are DivX, MPEG-1, MPEG-2and MPEG-4.

Encryption: Locking content by applying an algorithm in conjunction with an encryption key.  Encrypted content cannot be viewed unless it is decrypted, requiring the corresponding encryption key.  In most systems, the encryption key and the decryption key are the same, and the key management protocol defines the scheme that is used to securely transfer the key to the intended receiver of the encrypted content.  In public key systems, the encryption and decryption keys are not the same, and knowledge of one doesn’t allow the other to be determined.

Event Trackers: Recording user interactions with various red elements like a menu system, using code added to the website.

F

Failed Play Start: When a web server does not successfully transfer a unit of content or an ad to a browser, often caused by a user activity.  Also called Abort.

Fast Track:  A decentralized P2P network that powers P2P applications.

Fingerprinting:   A technology to protect multimedia from unauthorized reproduction which embeds a unique ID into each user’s copy that can be extracted to help identify culprits when an unauthorized leak is discovered.  ALT: An extended watermarking technique which embeds the identity of the end user into the content This can be used to trace the source of copyright infringement.

Flash: The authoring tool and format developed by Macromedia (acquired by Adobe Systems in 2005) to create content for digital platforms such as web applications, games, movies. It has become the preferred standard for adding animation and interactivity to web pages and is commonly used to integrate video and develop rich media applications.

Frames: Multiple, independent sections used to create a single web age, each bullt as a separate HTML file but with one master file to control placement of each section.

Frames Per Second (fps): The number of video frames displayed each second (also called frame rate). Continuous motion is believed to be achieved at about 17 fps. A common standard for video delivered over the web is 15 fps, which reduces file sizes substantially (since most video is shot at roughly 30 fps) but still but allows for fairly smooth motion.

Frame rate: The rate at which video frames or animated images display as the video or animated file executes (measured in fps, or frames per second.

Full Motion: Refers to NTSC-quality video—a video signal that is 30 fps, and at least 640×480 pixels in size.

G

Geofencing: Triggering a response when a device is outslide of a particular geographic area.

GPRS (General Packet Radio Service):  A non-voice value-added service that allows information to be sent and received across a mobile telephone network, supplementing Circuit Switched Data and Short Messaging Service.

H

Hotspotting: The practice of embedding hyperlinks within online video to enable users to click on actors, characters’ articles of clothing or other objects within the frame for more information or the opportunity to purchase.

HTML (HyperText Markup Language): The rules that govern the way documents are created so they can be read by a world-wide-web browser.

HD (High Definition): HD comes in three different formats, all in widescreen format (16:9), and provides a high resolution and picture quality, combined with digitally enhanced sound technology. The first (720p) features 720 x 1280 pixel resolution with progressive scanning. The second current high definition format (1080i) features greater resolution (1080 x 1920 pixels), but with interlaced scanning. The third (1080p) is currently the ultimate high definition format, with 1080 x 1920 pixel resolution (in the 16:9 ratio) and progressive scanning.

HDCP (High-Bandwidth Digital Copy Protection):  A specification developed by Intel Corporation to “protect” digital audio and video content as it travels across Digital Visual Interface (DVI) or High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) connections. HDCP protects uncompressed digital content from being transmitted to a non-HDCP compliant device (such as a DVD recorder), as data transmissions are permitted only between HDCP compliant devices connected to each other.

HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface):  A high-speed serial interface, capable of transmitting standard, enhanced, or high-definition video. The standard supports transmissions of up to 2.2 gigabits per second and resolutionsup to 1920x1080p at 30Hz. All data is sent uncompressed, to minimize additional artifacts from recompression – that is, there is no D/A or A/D conversions needed.  Up to eight channels of 192KHz audio are supported. The connector is more compact as well, resembling a USB connector.

HDMI Video Up-conversion:  Converts incoming composite, S-video, and component signals up to HDMI standard.

HLS (HTTP Live Streaming): An adaptive streaming communications protocol originally implemented by Apple which provides a mechanism for adapting live stream videos according to network conditions.

HTML5: A markup language used for structuring and presenting content on the World Wide Web. It is the fifth and latest major version of HTML and includes enriched features for media and cross-platform mobile applications.

HTTP (HyperText Transport Protocol): The protocol through which web pages are transmitted over the Internet.

Hyperlink: A web link in a given document to information within another document. These links are usually represented by highlighted words or images. The user also has the option to underline these hyperlinks.

HTTP Streaming: A form of streaming in which media files begin to play before they are downloaded entirely. This means that they can be sent via HTTP and don’t require specialized server software such as RealMedia files do. Also called Progressive Download.

I

Ingest:  The stage in which the compressed file and metadata are put into the digital asset management system.

Intelligent OTT: An OTT service that uses artificial intelligence to monitor activity and make suggestions based on watching habits.

Interactive Video:  A type of digital video creative that can take user input to perform some enhanced actions through elements integrated above and beyond the standard video playback controls.

Internet Protocol (IP):  The format of packets, and the addressing scheme. Most networks combine IP with a higher-level protocol called Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), which establishes a virtual connection between a destination and a source. IP allows you to address a package and drop it in the system, but there’s no direct link between you and the recipient. TCP/IP, on the other hand, establishes a connection between two hosts so that they can send messages back and forth for a period of time.

Internet Service Provider (ISP): A business or organization providing Internet acces and related services.

IPTV (Internet Protocol TV):  A system where a digital television service is delivered using Internet Protocol  over a network infrastructure, which may include delivery by a broadband connection. Content, instead of being delivered through traditional broadcast and cable formats, is received by the viewer through the technologies used for computer networks.   IPTV is typically supplied by a service provider using a closed network infrastructure. This closed network approach is in competition with the delivery of TV content over the public Internet, called Internet Television.

ISAN (International Standard Audiovisual Number):  A voluntary numbering system for the identification of audiovisual works, providing a unique, internationally recognized, and permanent reference number for each audiovisual work registered in the ISAN system.  The ISAN remains the same for an audiovisual work regardless of the format in which it is distributed.

Interstitial Content: Short content placed between two larger duration pieces of content.

J

K

L

Lifecycle Marketing:  The process of providing your audience the kinds of communications and experiences they need, want, or like as they move from prospects to customers then, ideally, to loyal viewers/subscribers.

Live Streaming: The broadcast of real-time video feed or live video footage to an audience over the Intenet.

Localization: Adapting a product or content to a specific locale, region, or market.

M

Mashup: A web service or software tool that combines two or more tools to create a whole new service. A famous example is ChicagoCrime, which merges Google Maps with the Chicago police department’s crime tracking web site to offer a map of crime in different parts of Chicago. The term is also used to describe user generated remixes of content from different sources.

Metadata: The information that identifies and describes the contents of a medium. This information can include media-specific information such as: Title, artist(s), production company, seasonal/episodic description, original release date, etc. Metadata can also include business-related information such as: pricing and availability.

MOOV atom: A video data object in a media file, placed at the beginning of a video file, used to execute the video.

MP4: A digital multimedia format used to store video and audio, which also might include features such as subtitles, chapter detail and other data related to the video or audio.

Mpeg: A set of standards for audio and video compression and transmission established by the Moving Picture Experts Group.

MPEG-DASH (MPEG Dynamic Adaptive Streaming Over HTTP): A flexible bitrate streaming technique which empowers high quality streaming of media content over the internet.

N

NTSC: The video input signal formats used in North America and Japan. Full-sized NTSC has 525 total lines of resolution (480 visible) per frame.

O

OBS (Open Broadcast Software): Free and open-source cross-platform streaming and recording program.

Online Video Platform (OVP): A platform that allows users to upload, convert, store and play back video content on the Internet, often via a structured, large-scale system that can generate revenue.

Open Source: A movement in which software developers make their source code available to anyone for free collaboration. The Linux operating system, created by Linus Torvalds, was an early example, relying on an army of volunteers to keep it up to date.

P

P2P (Peer-to-Peer) Networking:  Unlike a network where all network clients make requests to one central server, a P2P network model makes the download requests to other clients.  Once a user logs into a P2P network, the user is immediately both a client and a server simultaneously (though some systems permit “freeloading”, wherein the server function is disabled).  Users can download files from other users, and other users can download files from them.  An example is BitTorent first implemented in 2001, wherein a single download may come from multiple servers, each server delivering portions of the file which are assembled as a single file on the user’s device.

Pre-Caching: Storing content or advertising in a device’s memory before it is displayed on the user’s screen rather than at the time it plays, reducing rendering delays.

Pro Res/ Quicktime: Apple’s post-production format offering uncompressed HD quality at SD file sizes. Use ProRes 422 when collaborating over an Xsan storage network or working on a portable computer in the field; when working with non-native camera formats; or to preserve maximum quality for composites and demanding color grading work.

Progressive Load Video: Video is downloaded to the viewer’s computer and stored in a temporary directory.  Content will start playing as soon as it is available locally, and fast-forward and skip features will be available only as far as content has been downloaded.

PVR (Personal Video Recorder): A set-top box with a high capacity hard drive that records video programming from a souce such as over-the-air, cable, or satellite.

Q

R

Real Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP): A service to help transmit audio and video from Adobe’s Flash players to servers.

Resolution: The quality of an image or video file often determined by the number of pixels displayed on the screen, usually noted as a pixel width and height dimension.

RSS (Really Simple Syndication): Format for storing online information to make it readable by many different kinds of software. Many blogs and web sites feature RSS feeds, constantly updated in a form that can be read by a newsreader or aggregator.

S

SD (Standard Definition): Is the basic level of quality display and resolution for both analog and digital, of which the picture is 480 x 640 pixels, with interlaced scanning.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO): The process of growing the quality and quantity of website traffic by increasing the visibility of a website or a web page to users of a web search engine.

Silverlight: A web browser plug-in that provides support for rich internet applications such as animation, vector graphics and audio/video playback. Silverlight competes with companies such as Adobe Flash, Adobe Flex, Adobe AIR, Adobe Shockwave, JavaFX, and Apple QuickTime. Version 2.0 brought improved interactivity and support for .NET languages and development tools.

Streaming Video Player: A software program that can retrieve audio/video files over the Internet and begin playback before an entire media file has been downloaded.

Stream:  A single encrypted digital transmission of an audio or video file solely through the electronic medium and does not produce a fixed file embodying that can be rendered without a simultaneous active connection to the internet other than a temporary file created solely to render such contemporaneous performance as in the form of a data buffer or cache copy.

Syndicated Video: Republishing content on additional platforms reaching a broader audience

T

TMS ID: Unique identifiers (provided by Gracenote) to link EPGs and platforms with information about TV and movies.

Transcoding:  A process that changes the video or audio features of a file, such as the resolution or bit rate, by changing portions of the audio/visual content but not by reconstructing the content (as would be in encoding ).  Compressed-domain transcoding also maintains the format of the file.

U

Ultra High Definition: Unlike standard HDTV, Ultra HDTV is four times as wide and four times as high, producing an astonishing 7,680 × 4,320 pixel resolution. Ultra HDTV is 16 times the pixel resolution of standard HDTV.  Sound quality is also significantly increased with Ultra HDTV. 24 channels of audio can be used with 24 speakers, producing a difference comparable to the Ultra HD video resolution.

UMID (Universal Media ID): An item number unique among all assets to an individual digital asset.

Uploading: The transmission of a file from one computer system to a server, which results in a reproduction of the work to a second medium specified by the second computer system.

V

W

Widget: A small downloadable application that resides on a computer’s desktop or can be embedded on blogs, social networking profiles, personal start pages or other websites. Widgets can play audio or video tracks, conduct polls or quizzes, run slideshows or provide news o stock prices, or a multitude of other minor tasks.

Windows Media:  A group of technologies developed by Microsoft including Microsoft’s Digital Rights Management tools,Windows Media Video  encoding technology and Windows Media Audio encoding  technology.  These are proprietary standards similar to MPEG-4.

Windows Media DRM:  A DRM system built into Microsoft’s Windows Media Player software found on most Windows-based PCs as well as on many consumer electronics devices.  It is widely used to provide secure Internet delivery of audio and audiovisual content to any device that has that enabled.

Wireless Application Protocol (WAP): is the open international standard for applications written for cell phones or other wireless devices including Blackberrys and PDAs. A WAP browser surfs sites written to the standard, just like an internet web browser does.

WMV (Windows Media Video):  Microsoft’s proprietary video encoding  solutions.

Wrapper:  The format for storing video, audio, and other possible data within a “container “.

X

XML (Extensible Markup Language): A general purpose standard for describing, or marking up, documents and data distributed on the web. XML allows authors to create customized tags that can help them efficiently achieve their goals.

Y

Z

 

BUSINESS

 

A

Abandonment: When a user leaves a shopping cart with something in it prior to completing the transaction.

AAS: “Average Active Sessions” – The average number of streams of one minute or more that are active within a time period.

Affiliate Marketing: An agreement between two sites in which one site agrees to feature content or an ad designed to drive traffic to another site, receiving a percentage of sales or other compensation in return.

Affinity Marketing: Selling products or services to customers on the basis of their established buying patterns.

Audience Measurement: The counting of unique users and their interaction with online content.

Average Active Sessions:  The average number of streams of one minute or more that are active within a time period.

Average View Time: The average amount of time that a piece of content or an ad was played by users.

B

Bounce Rate: The percentage of visitors to a site that leave immediately.

Bundle: A monetization feature in an OTT platform where the consumer purchases access to a selection of multiple movies or TV episodes for a single price.

 

C

CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost): The cost of acquiring a customer for a particular product or service.

CCO: Chief Content Officer

CDO: Chief Digital Officer

CDP (Customer Data Platform): A marketer-managed system that creates a persistent, unified customer database that is accessible to other systems.

CEO: Chief Executive Officer

CFO: Chief Financial Officer

Churn Rate: The percentage rate at which customers stop subscribing to a service or product.

Click-Through: The action or facility of following a hypertext link to a particular website, usually a commercial one.

Click Through Rate (CTR): The ratio of users who click on a specific link to the number of total users who view a page, email, or advertisement, commonly used to measure the success of an online ad campaign for a particular website as well as the effectiveness of email campaigns.

CMO: Chief Marketing Officer

Conversion Rate: The percentage of users who complete a desired action.

COO: Chief Operating Officer

Count Audit: see “ACTIVITY AUDIT”.

Cross-channel marketing: Managing your brand’s exposure across social media, mobile apps, websites, email and word of mouth recommendations, providing customers with an integrated, consistent experience across your brand.

CTO: Chief Technical Officer

Customer Experience: The product of an interaction between an organization and a customer over the duration of their relationship.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM): An approach to manage a company’s interactions with current and potential customers using data analysis about customers’ histories.

D

D2C or DTC (Direct To Consumer): The content distribution model eliminating any third party or middleman between the content owner and the consumer.

Deduplication (of audience): Determining the same person that is connecting on a phone and a connected TV or laptop.

Designated Market Area (DMA): Geographic areas in the United States in which local television viewing is measured by the Nielsen Company.

Digital Asset: Any item of text or media that has been formatted into a binary source that includes the right to use it. A digital file without the right to use it is not an asset.

Digital Asset Management:  How you take in, handle and distribute everything you have in digital form.

Digital Supply Chain: The process of the delivery of digital media, be it music or video, by electronic means, from the point of origin (Content Provider) to destination (consumer).

DRM (Digital Rights Management):  DRM refers to the administration of usage rights in a digital environment. DRM solutions enforce the business rules set by the content owner often by managing “keys” between users and a server.

DST: Digital Sell Through. See EST.

DTO:  Download To Own. See EST.

E

EST: Electronic Sell Through. A licensed reproduction without limitation on the ordinary use and enjoyment of the resulting lawfully made copy. (The “To Own” appendage is a misnomer, given that ownership of the medium onto which a file is downloaded does not change. Anyone who downloads a file under a valid license is the owner of a lawfully made copy, no matter what restrictions may be placed on access to the file.)

Exclusive: Content that is available on a single platform.

F

FAST Channel: An HLS feed stitched and syndicated to FAST services (non-traditional cable linear)

G

Gross Rating Point (GRP): The size of an audience reached by a specific media vehicle or schedule, calculated as times aired multiplied by the percentage of audience reached each time it airs.  GRP quantifies impressions as a percentage of the target population.

H

Hybrid Model: OTT platforms that combine transactional and subscription VOD in a single service.

I

iVOD (Internet Video on Demand):  The temporary license (i.e., a rental) of a program for a limited and pre-determined viewing period (such as 24 or 48 hours) for on-demand viewing by an end-user. The program may be downloaded and stored locally on the end-user’s device, or accessed online via streaming.

J

K

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): Business metrics used to evaluate factors crucial to the success of an organization or a program.

L

Licensor: A party granting rights (typically copyrights and rights of publicity) under a license agreement. Includes a Licensee  who is authorized to sublicense the rights. Licensors typically grant the right to reproduce or perform the work publicly.

Licensee: A party obtaining rights under a license agreement.

Licensing Agent: A third party, that may or may not be the Copyright owner, that provides services for or on behalf of Licensee  under the Licensee ‘s supervision and in accordance with the terms and conditions of an agreement. Otherwise known as Contractor.

LIVE TV: A subscription-model service where content is streamed live to an internet-connected  device for viewing by the end-user (see OTT device examples above). Some people believe IPTV is OTT, but IPTV operates in a closed system or a dedicated, managed network controlled by thelocal multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD): a cable, satellite, telephone, or fiber company like U-verse (AT&T). IPTV means Internet Protocol TV and refers to the technology being utilized in the content’s delivery, not the license or business model being employed. OTT TV differs from IPTV as it transmits streams using HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol), the protocol which has been used for decades to transport web pages over the internet.

Long Tail: Use of the phrase the long tail in business as “the notion of looking at the tail itself as a new market” of consumers was first coined by Chris Anderson. “The theory of the Long Tail is that our culture and economy is increasingly shifting away from a focus on a relatively small number of “hits” (mainstream products and markets) at the head of the demand curve and toward a huge number of niches in the tail. As the costs of production and distribution fall, especially online, there is now less need to lump products and consumers into one-size-fits-all containers. In an era without the constraints of physical shelf space and other bottlenecks of distribution, narrowly-target goods and services can be as economically attractive as mainstream fare.” – Chris Anderson, Wired, 9/8/05

M

Master Service Agreement (MSA): A contracted document outlining the agreed upon terms between a buyer and seller, used as a baseline to govern future transactions.

Mediator: A third party that assists  primary parties to negotiate a dispute settlement.

Monthly Recurring Revenue: The revenue generated by a business monthly based on the number of subscribers.

MPAA (The Motion Picture Association of America): The non-profit trade association formed to advance the business interests of movie studios. Its members include The Walt Disney Company, Sony Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios and Warner Brothers. The MPAA administers the voluntary film rating  system.

MPAA Rating: Administered by the MPAA , this rating  system is used in the United States and its territories to rate a film’s thematic and content suitability for certain audiences. It is one of various motion picture rating systems used to help patrons decide what movies are appropriate for children, for adolescents, and for adults. Current ratings  are G, PG, PG-13, R, and NC-17. Legacy ratings no longer issued include GP, M and X.

MSO (multiple system operator): A cable operator owning more than one cable TV systems.

N

Network: The provider of programming to a series of affiliated local television stations. For purposes of metadata standards, it is the local (meaning nation of origin) network that originally broadcast a television series.

O

OEM (Original equipment manufacturer): In OTT space it often refers to smart TV manufacturers like Samsung, LG, and Vizio.

Online Video Business: An online service that generates income through the sale of access to videos.

Online Video Subscription Business: An online video business that charges users a recurring fee for access to the content available on their service.

P

Paid Media: Media that is paid for to drive traffic to owned media properties.

Pay-TV: A subscription-based television service from a satellite, cable or telephone company.

Perceptible Copyright Notice: Copyright Notice  that can be seen by the consumer at the first point of interaction (e.g. at the point of purchase, at the point of preparing to place a disc in a drive, or at the point of beginning to watch a movie). The manner of making perceptible will vary with the context in which the Perceptible Copyright Notice is required. For example, perceptible on the disc, cover or packaging (in the case of a copy sold or rented); perceptible when the work is performed (in the case of streaming, when performed publicly; in the case of digital delivery, when performed privately); or perceptible in a web browser display (when offered for sale, rental, streaming or download from a website).

Price Per Unit: The price charged by the Licensor  for a single unit of a copyright (e.g. price per Reproduction/Download, price per Stream) associated with a given title.

Primary Studio: The production entity with underlying distribution rights to a property in a specific market.

Primary Genre: A type or category of movie or television show (such as drama, comedy, musical, action/adventure, etc)

Publishers: Companies that provide digital media for distribution on the Internet.

PVD: Permanent Video Download. See EST

Q

R

Retention: Activities and actions companies take to reduce the number of customer defections.

S

SVOD (Subscription Video On Demand):  For a fixed, recurring fee, subscribers may have  unlimited streaming to a licensed catalog of content for the duration of their active subscription term. Subscription terms may be as short as one month (Hulu Plus, Netflix) or as long as one year (Amazon Prime).

Street Date: The date on which the Licensor  first makes a title available to the public in a specific format. For physical media that cannot be made available to merchants at the same time, “Street Date” refers to the date at which the various merchants agree to make it available to their customers in order to ensure a level playing field, enable targeted promotions and avoid customer confusion as to availability.

Studio ID #: Unique identifier assigned by an individual studio for internal tracking purposes.

Subscription: A business model in which the retail customer may obtain specified goods or services for only so long as a subscription is maintained (typically month to month).

T

Transactional: An agreement between parties to exchange certain rights to content for money.

Transactional Video On Demand (TVOD): The business model where the consumer purchases the license for content either on a “permanent” basis (electronic sell thru, or EST) or on a limited time basis (download to rent, or DTR).

U

UI (User Interface): User interface design, the look and layout of a platform.

Ultraviolet: An ecosystem for interoperable electronic content. It’s a branded set of specifications and agreements along with a centralized rights clearinghouse that allows retailers to sell movies that play on UltraViolet-compatible players and services.

User-Generated Video: Content created by the at-large public, generally not professionally edited, and directly uploaded to sites like YouTube.

UX (User Experience): Encompasses all aspects of a user’s interaction with a platform.

V

Video Hosting: A website service that allows videos to be uploaded to the Internet and provides functionality for it to be downloaded and streamed.

Video Monetization: Generating revenue from video content.

Video Subscription Service Platform: A service that enables you to create and operate a subscription video business,

Visually Perceptible Copyright Notice: Notice which contains all the following three elements: (a) the symbol © (the letter C in a circle), or the word “Copyright,” or the abbreviation “Copr.”; (b) the year of first publication of the work; (c) and the name of the owner of copyright in the work, or an abbreviation by which the name can be recognized, or a generally known alternative designation of the owner.

VOD (Video On Demand): Content either streamed  or downloaded  to a device such as a computer or set-top box for viewing by the consumer when the consumer wants to watch it. This content may be owned by the consumer or may have been rented for a limited period or number of plays (transactional VOD).

W

Window: A period of time during which a copyright owner exercises its right to do or to authorize one or more of its exclusive rights though one particular channel of dissemination and before authorizing the next channel of dissemination. For example, a theatrical first run window is the period during which a film is licensed for public performances in theaters and before it is distributed on DVD.

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GENERAL/CONSUMER

   

0

4K: Refers to the horizontal display resolution of approximately 4,000 pixels.   Often call UHD or Ultra HD, which is, according to CTA, the official name for this standard.

A

B

Binge-watching: The practice of watching multiple episodes of content for a long time-span in a single sitting.

Blog/Vlog: Online text or video diaries covering a range of topics, from personal reflections to highly specialized industry news. Many web companies maintain their own corporate blog where informal announcements are made to their communities of users. More popular blogs earn ad revenue, break news, attract buyout offers and have even been known to influence national debate or stock prices. Platforms such as Google-owned Blogger, TypePad and WordPress have turned blogging into one of the easiest ways for people to maintain a constantly updated web presence.

Broadband: An Internet connection delivering a bit rate at or above 256kbps, such as cable or DSL.

Broadcast Linear: Linear content delivered over a broadcast network. This includes both over the air (OTA) broadcast as well as cable distribution.

Broadband Video Commercials: TV-like ads that may appear as in-page video commercials or before, during, and/or after a variety of content in a player environment including but not limited to, live, archived, and downloadable streaming video, animation, gaming, and music video content.

C

Closed Captioning: Captions are words displayed on a television screen that explains the audio of a program to let viewers who are deaf or hard of hearing understand the dialogue and action of a program at the same time.  Closed captioning is enabled on a television set by a decoder that’s built in the television. The United States government requires that decoders be built into television sets 13 inches or larger that are sold in the U.S. Closed captioning can be turned on or off by the viewer, according to the Federal Communications Commission.

Conditional Download: A file which is fixed into a time-limited or play count-limited download. Usually cannot be burned or transferred and may be deleted or disabled for the end users storage device no later than has been authorized.

Connected TV: A television set that is connected to the internet and is able to access web-based content

Copyright Notice: Indication that the work is copyrighted, the date of the copyright, and the copyright owner. (E.g., “© 2008 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation”.) The Copyright Notice is distinct from copyright licensing information. See also Perceptible Copyright Notice.

Cord Cutters: Individuals who have unsubscribed to all traditional cable TV services (usually switching to online streaming services)..

Cord Cutting: Unsubscribing to all traditional cable TV services

Cord Nevers: Individuals who have never subscribed to satellite or cable TV, but instead use OTT platforms for watching content via the Internet.

Cord Shifting: Switching from satellite or cable TV subscriptions to services that offer similar programming via the Internet.

CTV (Connected TV): Any device used to stream content to a television, such as the television itself (smart TV), a connected devices (settop box or stick), or game console.

D

Digital Linear: An IP-Delivered Linear feed

DVR (Digital Video Recorder): A device that records linear video programming for later playback or storage, and enabling pause and fast forward.

E

Electronic Programming Guide (EPG): An application that allows the viewer to interactively browse and select programming.

Episode:  A single part (similar to a chapter) of a series or compilation, usually first distributed via broadcasting, webcasting or podcasting on a single date.

ETV (Enhanced Television): A type of interactive television technology that allows content producers to send data and graphical enhancements through a small part of the regular analog broadcast signal called the vertical blanking interval, which are clickable by consumers with special set-top boxes.

F

G

H

I

IP Delivered: The delivery of audiovisual content via an IP network. “IP-Delivered” does not necessarily imply streaming.

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Linear: An audiovisual feed with the following characteristics: 1) The content and arrangement are determined by the entity creating the feed, and 2) the feed continues uninterrupted until it is completed or terminated.

Linear TV: A traditional television service through which scheduled programs are broadcasted over the air or by satellite connection.

Live Linear: See Linear

Long-form Video: Video content traditionally having a beginning, middle and an end that, lasts longer than ten minutes (such as movies or a mini-series).

M

Media Company: A company that derives revenue from publishing content.

Movies Anywhere: A US-only cloud-based digital locker and over-the-top streaming platform allowing the consumer to combine their EST purchases and  enables interoperability across platforms.

N

O

Open Captioning: Captions are  words displayed on a television screen that explains the audio of a program to let viewers who are deaf or hard of hearing understand the dialogue and action of a program at the same time.  Open captions are always on the screen and cannot be turned off.

OTT (Over-The-Top): Refers to the delivery of audiovisual content streamed over the Internet without the involvement of an Internet service provider (ISP) in the control or distribution of the content. The ISP is neither responsible for, nor is able to control, the viewing abilities, copyrights, and/or other redistribution of the content, which arrives from a third party and is delivered to an end-user’s device. The ISP is only in the role of transporting IP packets. It’s often referred to as “over-the-top” because these services ride on top of the service you already get. OTT services don’t require any business or technology affiliations with the entity that controls or maintains the infrastructure through which the content is delivered to end-users. OTT includes the distribution of linear programming and non-linear video-on-demand (VOD) and electronic sell-through (EST) content. Smartphones, tablets, computers, gaming consoles, DVD/Blu-ray Disc players, televisions, and set-top boxes/devices (e.g., Apple TV, Fire TV, Google Chromecast, and Roku.) with internet connectivity are able to access content via the internet from companies and services like Amazon Video, CBS All Access, HBO Now, Hulu, Netflix, and Sling TV.)

OTT device: Any device through which a consumer can watch audio or video content over the Internet.

P

Pass: Option to download  or stream  all episodes  within an established grouping such as a television series  or season.

Portable Media Player:  A consumer electronics device that is capable of storing and playing digital media. Data is typically stored on a hard drive, micro-drive, or flash memory. Sometimes referred to as a portable video player (PVP).

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R

Ratings: A Rating is a code or classification given to a work to alert consumers whether particular attention should be given to the work’s suitability for audience members below a particular age level. For purposes of this Glossary, any reference to a “Rating” should specify the rating system to which it refers. For example, “MPAA-PG” to refers the “PG” (Parental Guidance) rating given by the Classification and Ratings Administration of the Motion Picture Association of America .

Roles: Screen names of key characters in a movie or television show.

Run Time: The amount of time from the start of a film or of a television show, through the end including the run of credits.

S

Series:  A group of programs created or adapted for broadcast, webcast or podcast with a common series title, usually related to one another in subject or otherwise. Often, series appear once a week during a prescribed time slot; however, they may appear with more or less frequency. Series are usually created to be open-ended, not with a predetermined number of episodes . In a fiction series, the programs typically share the same characters and basic theme.

Set-top box: A hardware device that provides digital video to a television or monitor.

Short Form Video: Video content that has a duration of less than ten minutes.

Smart TV: An Internet-ready television able to download OTT video apps and stream content without the connection of a set-top box.

Smart TV Platform: The software that enables a Smart TV’s functionality, such as the Roku operating system or iOS, Android TV, or FireTV.

Social Network: An online and social community of people who share interests and activities or who are interested in exploring the interests or activities of others.

Streaming On-Demand: Technology that enables the consumer to view on-demand video over the Internet without downloading it.

Subtitles: Captions displayed on a movie or television screen that translate or transcribe the dialogue or narrative.

SVOD (Subscription Video-On-Demand): Services where a consumer pays a monthly or annual fee for what is normally unlimited access to content.

Synopsis: A brief description of the contents of a particular work. The synopsis is most often provided by the publisher of the work for use in promotional materials by other merchants, but may also be prepared independently by any given merchant.

T

Talent: Key actors/actresses in a movie or television show.

Television Rating: Television Parental Guideline System Rating  of a television show, established by the individual broadcast or cable network airing the program. Ratings  are VY, TVY7, TVG, TVPG, TV14, and TVMA, and reflect the amount of violent or sexual content and language.

Trailers: Promotional clips of titles when prepared by or for the copyright owner in the title, and which may be separate copyrighted works. (Trailers do not include promotional clips offered as an actual short sample of the work to assist a customer in making selection.)

TV Everywhere: The business model where acccess to streaming video content from a television channel is provided on any device once it is authenticated by the user as a current subscriber through their PayTV provider account.

tvOS: The operating system for 4th generation and beyond Apple TV products.

U

V

Virtual Live Linear: See Digital Linear

Virtual Multichannel Programming Distributor (VMVPD): Virtual MVPD (Multichannel Video Program Distributor). A subscription-based platform that aggregates and delivers more than one Digital Linear feed. Note that vMVPD platforms may distribute other content (e.g., VOD) as well.

W

Watermark:  Technology used to embed information, including content usage rules, securely into a video or audio signals, designed to be imperceptible to the audience.  Watermarks survive and “travel with” content as it is converted from digital to analog form or is re-digitized from analog.  Since they are embedded within the actual content, watermarks are difficult to remove.  However, watermarks do not in themselves protect content – protection is only achieved if devices and products are designed to inspect content for watermarks and to respond appropriately to the rules associated with that watermark.

Wiki: A collaboratively edited web page. The best-known example is wikipedia, an encyclopedia that anyone in the world can help to write or update. Wikis are frequently used to allow people to write a document together, or to share reference material that lets colleagues or even members of the public contribute content.

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ADVERTISING

        

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302 redirect: An HTTP response sending a browser to a different location, such as that of a requested ad.

A

Above the fold (ATF): Content or an ad that is place on a website in view before the page is scrolled.

Activity audit: Independent verification of metrics such as ad impressions, page impressions, clicks, total visits, and unique users.

Ad (or, Advertisement): Anything designed to draw consumer attention toward a product, service or idea.  On the Web, ads are usually a banner, graphic image, or set of animated images (in an animated gif) of a designated pixel size and byte size limit.

Ad Assets: Logos, artwork, fonts, text, media files etc that a brand uses in their advertising creative.

Ad Audience: The number of unique users exposed to an ad within a specified time period.

Ad Blocker: Software on a user’s browser which prevents advertisements from being displayed.

Ad Campaign Audit: An activity audit for a specific ad campaign.

Ad Creative Pixel: A pixel request embedded in an ad tag which calls a web server for the purpose of tracking that a user has viewed a particular ad .

Ad Download: When an ad is downloaded by a server to a user’s browser.

Ad Exchange: an intermediary player which matches supply (from publishers and supply-side platforms) and demand (from demand-side platforms) typically in an auction environment.

Ad Family: A collection of one or more ad creatives. Also called an ad campaign.

Ad Impression:  When an ad is called from its source (the ad server) by a request from a user’s browser.

Ad Impression Ratio: Click-throughs divided by ad impressions.

Ad Inventory: The inventory generated by a channel or a piece of content available to display advertisements to visitors.

Ad Network: A player that aggregates multiple online content publishers and their associated advertising inventory to represent the aggregated inventory to media buyers in an effort to maximize prices and fill rates for suppliers of advertising impressions.

Ad Ops:  The team/function that is responsible for trafficking and optimizing digital ad campaigns.

Ad Recall: A measurement of advertising effectiveness in which respondents report on whether they remember an ad.

Ad Request: The request by a site for an advertisement to be played.

Ad Rotation: The practice of showing multiple ads in a a single location on a Web page, usually automatically.

Ad Server: The player and software that are both a decision engine matching business rules against audience impressions and the supply chain provider that serves an advertisement to the end user.

Ad Serving: The delivery of ads by a server to an end-user’s screen.

Ad Space: The area on a website dedicated to online advertising.

Ad Stitching:  Also known as “server-side ad insertion” or “dynamic ad insertion”. A technology that allows publishers to stitch their video and ad content together at the content management system level rather than on the level of the browser.

Ad Stream: The series of ads displayed by the user during a single visit to a site (also impression stream).

Ad Supported Television: A linear, IP-Delivered audiovisual content offering that includes advertisements. Note that the term ‘Television’ is a misnomer, but refers to the general concept of curated and/or scheduled content.

Ad Tag: Software code that an advertiser provides to a publisher or ad network that calls the advertisers ad server for the purposes of displaying an advertisement.

Ad Targeting: Delivering an ad to a defined or appropriate audience.

Ad Transfers: The successful display of an advertiser’s web site after the user clicked on an ad.

Ad Unit: Set of ads displayed as a result of executing a piece of ad code.

Ad View: The number of times an ad arrives on viewers’ displays.

Addressable Advertising: Communication of a specific advertisement to a specific device of a customer based on their IP address or other targeting capabilities.

Agency: An organization that, on behalf of clients, plans marketing and advertising campaigns; drafts and produces ads; and places ads in the media.

Agency Ad Server: The ad server hosted by the advertising agency

Animated GIF: The animation created by combining multiple gif images in one file, resulting in multiple images displayed sequentially, giving the appearance of movement.

Animation:  Programmatically generated display of digital images, creating the illusion that objects in the image are moving.

Applet: A small application that performs a specific task and runs within the scope of a larger program, such as by browsers to automatically display animation or perform database queries.

Apps: Short for “applications” – programs on a device (such as a mobile device, a smart TV, or a set-top box) that provide a specific service or function.

Audience-Based Buying:  Targeting only likely buyers.

Auto Play Video Ad: A video ad or an ad linked with video content that initiates ‘‘play’’ without user interaction or without an explicit action to start the video .

AVOD (Ad-Supported Video On Demand): Ad-supported content made available on an ondemand basis for streaming end users. A non-linear, IP-Delivered audiovisual content offering that includes advertisements. In contrast to Ad-Supported Television, the user determines when content is played.

B

Banner: A form of online paid advertising that is typically a designed image or a photo and copy.

Beacon: See Web Beacon

Behavioral Targeting: Allows advertisers and publishers to display relevant ads and marketing messages to users based on their Web browsing behavior.

Below the Fold (BTF): Content or an ad that is place on a website that is out of view until the page is scrolled.

Between-the-Page: See Interstitial ads

Beyond the Banner: Internet advertising other than banner ads.

Bumper Ad: A short linear video ad with a clickable call-to-action such as another video or opening a new website.

C

Cached Ad Impressions: The delivery of an ad to a browser from local cache or a proxy server’s cache.

Click Fraud: The practice of repeatedly clicking on an ad hosted on a website with the intention of generating revenue for the host site or draining revenue from the advertiser.

Click Rate:  The percentage of ad views resulting in click-throughs, or the ratio of clicks to ad impressions.

Companion Ad: A display ad shown alongside an in-stream or overlay video ad, offering the user a place to click and remaining on screen after the video ad has finished playing.

Competitive Separation: Length of time between commercials for the same product category, or the number of ads for a specific product category appearing on a single web page.

Completion Percentage: Percentage of users who playout a video through completion.

Contextual Ads: A form of targeted advertising for ads appearing on websites or other media, such as content displayed in mobile browsers, which are selected and served by automated systems based on the context of what a user is looking at.

Contexual Targeting: Selecting and serving ads by automated systems based on the context of what a user is looking at or on keywords.

Conversion: When the user performs the specific action that the advertiser has defined as the campaign goal.

Conversion Pixel: A specific type of web beacon that is triggered to indicate that a user has successfully completed a specific action such as a purchase or registration.

Cost Per Action (CPA): Payment by an advertiser for each visitor that takes some specifically defined action in response to an ad beyond simply clicking on it.

Cost per Click (CPC): Payment by an advertiser to a publisher for every click on an ad.

Cost Per Completed View (CPCV): Payment by an advertiser every time a video ad runs through to completion.

Cost per Customer (CPC): Payment by an advertiser to acquire a single customer.

Cost per Download (CPD): Payment by an advertiser every time a desired download (such as a coupon download) occurs via an ad unit

Cost per Engagement (CPE): Payment by an advertiser every time a consumer interacts with a rich media ad unit.

Cost Per Lead: The cost for each visitor providing enough information at the advertiser’s site to be used as a sales lead.

Cost Per Point (CPP): The cost of a campaign divided by each full percentage rating point of a targeted demographic that the campaign successfully reaches.

Cost Per Sale (CPS): The advertiser’s cost to generate one sales transaction.

Cost Per Thousand Targeted (CPTM): The advertiser’s cost per thousand targeted ad impressions.

Cost Per Unique Visitor: Total cost of an ad divided by the number of unique users.

Cost Per View (CPV): Cost of an ad based on the number of ad video starts.

Cost per Viewable Impression: Cost of an ad based on the number of “viewable” video ad impressions (based on the MRV and IAB guidelines for “viewable”).

CPI or Cost Per Install: Cost of an ad based on the number of installations of the advertised application.

CPM: Advertising cost based on one thousand impressions of the advertisement.

CPO: Cost of ad based on orders received or the number of transactions.

CPT: Cost per Transaction – same as CPO.

CPTM: Advertising cost based on one thousand targeted impressions.

Creative: An ad or set of ads for a campaign.

D

Data Management Platform (DMP): A system that allows the collection of audience intelligence by advertisers and ad agencies, thereby allowing better ad targeting in subsequent campaigns.

Daughter Window: An ad that runs in a separate ad window associated with a concurrently displayed banner.

Deduplication (of ads): Prohibiting identical ads from being played back-to-back.

Demand Side Platform (DSP): A technology platform that provides centralized and aggregated media buying from multiple sources including ad exchanges, ad networks and sell side platforms, often leveraging real time bidding capabilities of these sources to achieve the coveted audience at the lowest price.

Demographic Targeting: Enabling advertisers to show an ad specifically to visitors based on demographic information such as age, gender and income.

Direct Response (DR): An ad that is designed to have the viewer take immediate action.

Display Advertising: A form of online advertising where an advertiser’s message is shown on a destination web page, generally set off in a box at the top or bottom or to one side of the content of the page.

DMP (Data Management Platform):  A data management platform that allows you to create target audiences based on a combination of in-depth first-party and third-party audience data, target campaigns to these audiences, and measure results of the campaigns.

Dwell Rate: The measurement of how successfully a digital ad captures user attention by quantifying the proportion of users who physically touch the ad (by moving the cursor to it but not clicking).

Dwell Time: The amount of time that a user keeps his or her cursor stationary over a given icon, graphic, ad, or another piece of web content.

Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI): See Ad Stitching.

Dynamic Creative: Ad creative, customized in advance, that is able to transform itself upon delivery to target relevant audience segments.

Dynamic Rotation: Delivery of ads on a rotating, random basis so that users are exposed to different ads.

E

Effective CPM: The average CPM of a campaign.

Exposed Group: The collection of consumers who were exposed to an ad.

Eyeballs: Slang term for the number of viewers.

F

FAST (Free Ad-Supported Television): Ad-Supported Television provided to the user for free.

First Look: A situation in which the media seller gives certain buyers first priority in access to ad inventory.

Flighting: Parameters around the timing when an ad will air.

Floating Ads: An ad or ads that appear within the main browser window on top of the web page’s normal content (appearing to float over the top of the page).

Fold: The line below which a user has to scroll to see content not immediately visible when a web page loads in a browser.

Frequency: The number of times an ad is delivered to the same browser in a single session or time period.

Frequency Capping: The limit of how many times a given ad will be shown to a unique cookie during a session or within a specific time period.

Full Episode Player (FEP): Placement on a web page that has the ability to play videos that are typically 30-60 minutes and often include multiple ad breaks throughout the streaming video content.

Full Screen Views: The number of impressions where the video was played in full screen mode.

G

Geographic Targeting: The ability for advertisers to display (or prevent the display of) an ad specifically to visitors based on zip code, area code, city DMA, state and/or country.

Gross Exposures: The total number of times an ad is served, including duplicate downloads to the same person.

H

Header Bidding: An advanced programmatic advertising technique by which publishers simultaneously offer ad space out to numerous ad exchanges at once.

House Ads: Ads for a product or service from the same company as is providing the ad space.

I

Impression: The measurement of responses from a web server to a page request from the user browser.

Insertion: Placement of an ad in a document, as recorded by the ad server.

Insertion Order (IO): A formal, printed order to run an ad campaign between a seller of advertising and a buyer (usually an advertiser or an agency).

In-Stream Video Ad: An ad played before, during, or after the streaming video content that the consumer has requested, which cannot typically be stopped from being played.

Interactive Ads: Digital ads designed for user interaction.

Interest-based Advertising (IBA): Also call “behavioral advertising” – Uses information gathered about a user’s visits over time and across different websites or applications in order to help predict preferences and show ads that are more likely to be of interest to the user.

Interstitial Ads: Full screen ads that cove the interface of their host app, displayed at natural transition points in between activities.

Inventory: The total number of ad views or impressions available for sale over a period of time.

IP-Based Geo-targeting:  Advertising delivered to a user based on his/her geographic location as determined by the internet protocol (IP) address.

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L

Linear Video Ads: Ads which take over the full video screen that are experienced in-stream, presented before, within, or after the video content is consumed.

M

Makegoods: Additional ad impressions to make up for the shortfall of ads delivered versus the commitments outlined in an approved insertion order.

N

O

OBA (Online Behavioral Advertising): A method for targeting digital advertising impressions to appear to a select audience of consumers based on their prior actions, those actions occurring either online or offline (also called Behavioral Targeting).

Open Auction: A programmatic marketplace where real time bidding (RTB) occurs and any advertiser or publisher can participate (also called Private Marketplace).

P

Pace/pacing: The rate at which a digital ad campaign uses up its pre-set number of impressions (for a fixed/reserved campaign) or budget (for an auction-based/unreserved campaign).

Pay Per Click (PPC): An advertising pricing model in which advertisers pay agencies and/or media companies based on how many users clicked on an online ad or e-mail message through to their website.

Pay Per Impression: An advertising pricing model in which advertisers pay based on how many users were served their ad.

Pay Per Lead: An advertising pricing model in which advertisers pay for each sales lead generated, for example based on the number of visitors that click on an ad and complete a form.

Pay Per Sale: An advertising pricing model in which advertisers pay agencies and/or media companies based on how many sales transactions were generated as a direct result of the ad.

Performance Pricing Model: An advertising pricing model where advertisers pay based on agreed upon performance criteria.

Post Roll: An in-stream video ad that appears after the video content completes.

Pre-roll: An in-stream video ad that appears before the video content starts.

Programmatic Advertising: Technology-based ad buying, automating and optimizing the process, ultimately serving targeted and relevant experiences to consumers.

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R

Real Time Bidding (RTB): A means by which advertising inventory is bought and sold on a per-impression basis via programmatic instantaneous auction.

Rich Media: In the context of advertising, banners and other ads that include advanced features like video, audio, or interactivity.

Run of Network (RON): An advertisement that is placed to run on all sites within a given network of sites at the ad networks discretion, according to available inventory.

Run of Site (ROS): An advertisement that is placed to run on all non-featured ad spaces across an entire website.

S

SAST; Subscription Ad-Supported Television: Ad-Supported Television provided to the user with a subscription model

Sell-Side Platform (SSP): A technology platform that provides outsourced media selling and ad network management for publishers exclusively (also called Sell-Side Optimizer).

Server Initiated Ad Delivery: Advertisements initiated by the publisher’s web content server making requests, formatting and re-directing content.

Server-Initiated Ad Impression: Using the publisher’s web con.

Server-Side Ad Insertion: See Ad Stitching.

Subscription AVOD; SAVOD: AVOD that also requires a subscription

Supply Side Platform (SSP): A technology platform to enable web publishers and digital out-of-home media owners to manage their advertising inventory, fill it with ads and receive revenue (also called Sell-Side Platform).

T

Target Rating Point (TRP): The size of an audience reached by a specific media vehicle or schedule (calculated by the product of the percentage of the target audience reached by an advertisement times the frequency they see it in a given campaign).

Tracking Assets: A piece of content associated with an ad or page on which an ad appears that is designed to serve as a trigger by which the ad is counted.

Tracking Pixel: A 1×1 pixel-sized transparent image that provides information about an ad’s placement and activity (also known as a beacon).

Transitional Ad: An ad that is displayed as a user is navigating between two web pages (also known as interstitial).

U

Upfront Commitments: Annual media spending commitments made by agencies on behalf of clients, based on a series of presentations hosted by media companies, allowing marketers to buy media time several months before new programming begins.

V

VAST Tag: Ad tag utilized within a SSP.

Video Ad: An advertisement that contains video.

Video Ad Completion Rate (VCR): The percentage of all video advertisements that the consumer plays through their entire duration to completion.

Video Ad Serving Template (VAST): A specification defined and released by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) that sets a standard for communication requirements between ad servers and video players in order to present video ads.

Video Player Ad Interface (VPAID): The bilateral protocol between the video ad server and the publisher’s video player that enables ad interactivity and other advanced video advertising functionality,

Video Text Tracks (VTT) Caption Format: A system or format for creating time-specific closed captions for videos, matching the dialogue to the video with the specific time stamp,

W

Web Beacon: A Web beacon is an often-transparent graphic image, usually no larger than 1 pixel x 1 pixel, that is placed on a website  that is used to monitor the behavior of the user visiting the Web site,

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