Notably, Unthinkably Good Things scores the week’s highest iSpot Attention Index (112), meaning viewers were on average highly likely to watch its promos all the way through (vs. interrupting viewing by changing the channel, pulling up the guide, fast-forwarding or turning off the TV).

Brief by Promax has partnered with Broadcasting & Cable and iSpot.tv on weekly chart Promo Mojo, offering data revealing the week’s most-promoted programming ranked by TV ad impressions.

Key gatekeepers are platforms such as Vizio, speakers noted. Katherine Pond, group VP, platform, content and partnerships at Vizio, said the company collects useful data that it can share with content partners.

“We have the ability to see what consumers are watching,” she said. For instance, if Vizio data shows a spike in viewership, she can say, “Let’s go talk to that network about making a FAST channel about this.”

Every weekday we bring you the Ad Age/iSpot Hot Spots, new commercials tracked by iSpot.tv, the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company. (Scroll down to watch them all.)

A few highlights: Airbnb shows scenes from a mother and daughter’s stay at a potato-shaped building in Boise, Idaho—an example of the kind of offbeat properties you can find in its “OMG!” category. KFC hypes its limited-time $6 2-piece Drum & Thigh Combo Meal. And Honda traces its history—from a maker of motorized bicycles to a manufacturer of EVs—in a spot with the tagline “The Power of Dreams.”

Below is a snapshot of TV by the numbers for the week of Aug. 22-28, highlighting the most-watched shows and networks using glass-level data from Vizio’s Inscape, and network and show TV ad impressions insights via iSpot.tv.

Via iSpot.tv, the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company. Rankings are by TV ad impressions, for new episodes only.

“iSpot is ushering in a new era for audience measurement and one that can make the TV marketplace more equitable,” said Waldron. “iSpot recognises the societal value of properly measuring the TV consumption of racial and ethnic minorities in service of the most representative sample of viewing. Advertisers and networks want to reach these communities to better address their unique needs with more specialized product offerings. Minority communities are thus better served when their specific media consumption is more reliably measured.”

iSpot.tv has appointed U.S. Census Bureau veteran Will Waldron to vice president of research, just as the measuring company prepares for industry accreditation.

Waldron will oversee iSpot’s Media Ratings Council (MRC) accreditation process, the first stage of which will be completed later this year. He’s also tasked with managing the company’s representative audience panel, focusing on data fidelity, accurate measurement and reliable ratings.

Vizio’s WatchFree+ service has now added four Scripps Networks channels for TV users to watch for free. Similar to many other free apps and services, WatchFree+ offers consumers a way to watch select shows, movies, and even live TV channels for free. This ‘FAST’ sector has quickly become one of the main areas of growth within the streaming industry, and that’s only likely to continue with the addition of more channels.

CreatorIQ has equipped numerous brands to build world-class influencer marketing programs. Tapping into this unparalleled insight on the creator economy, the SaaS platform has now produced a worksheet outlining the six key skills behind any effective influencer marketing hire.

The addition of the channels comes at a time when Vizio is increasingly focused on its streaming platform products, which are rolled into a single offering that Vizio calls Platform Plus. Earlier this month, Vizio said its Platform Plus streaming product earned $408.9 million, up 2 percent from last year.

Pluto TV has been joined by many other FAST linear platforms, including Xumo, Samsung TV Plus, LG Channels, and Vizio WatchFree. And more are entering the market. Freecast’s SelectTV, a subscription hub for streaming TV, is changing its name to FreeCast and making 250+ FAST linear channels available.

“We are pleased to be working with Scripps to expand their content offering on Vizio, helping us deliver on our commitment to provide endless entertainment options and enhanced consumer experiences,” said Katherine Pond, group vp, platform content and partnerships at Vizio, in a statement. “Thanks to these popular Scripps channels with some all-time consumer favorite shows, we can offer an ever-wider variety of free programming across genres and interests and bring more options to millions of WatchFree+ viewers.”

Vizio Aug. 31 announced it has added four free channels from The E.W. Scripps Company, including ION, ION Mystery, Bounce XL and Grit Xtra to its ad-supported streaming service WatchFree+.

ION features a collection of television re-run dramas, including “NCIS,” “Chicago Fire,” “Law & Order: SVU,” and original holiday movies.

Vizio is expanding free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) programming from Scripps Networks with the addition of four new channels to the smart TV maker’s WatchFree+ platform.

The latest network additions, now available on all Vizio smart TVs, include ION (featuring dramas like “NCIS,” “Chicago Fire,” and “Law & Order: SVU”), ION Mystery (focused on thrillers, docuseries and shows such as the “CSI” franchise, Bounce XL (TV targeting Black viewers with scripted sitcoms and dramas), and Grit Xtra (featuring western series and movies).

VIZIO owners are getting more reasons to enjoy their purchase as on Wednesday, the Smart TV manufacturer announced the addition of four free, ad-supported TV (FAST) channels to its lineup of programming. Users will now be able to watch E.W. Scripps channels ION, ION Mystery, Bounce XL, and Grit Xtra on VIZIO’s free streaming service WatchFree+.

E.W. Scripps and Vizio said they made a deal that adds four Scripps channels to Vizio’s Watch Free Plus streaming platform.

The agreement is the latest in the last few weeks that give the over-the-air Scripps networks–led by Ion and Bounce–carriage as free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channels.

B+C has partnered with always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company iSpot.tv to bring you a weekly chart we call Promo Mojo: exclusive data showing TV’s most-promoted programming ranked by ad impressions. Our data covers the seven-day period through August 28.

MTV's 2022 Video Music Awards is No. 1 for a third week in a row. (The big show aired live on Sunday.)

Due to substantial business and marketplace slowdown, Peloton Interactive, the connected TV fitness company, dramatically lowered marketing efforts in its latest quarter — down 31% to $158.1 million — from the prior-year period. Looking specifically at national TV advertising, Peloton has spent $54.9 million this year so far through August, according to iSpot.tv. That’s down from $96.1 million a year ago.

Here are the Top 15 biggest ad dollar spenders in the NFL last season, based on data provided by iSpot.tv (expect most, if not all, to be back):

In this role, Waldron will focus on data fidelity, measurement veracity and ratings reliability. He will have oversight of iSpot’s diverse, representative audience panel, which includes the largest pool of smart TV viewers for the purposes of measurement in the industry. Among his responsibilities will be oversight of iSpot’s Media Ratings Council (MRC) accreditation process, the first stage of which will be completed later this year.

“iSpot is ushering in a new era for audience measurement and one that can make the TV marketplace more equitable,” said Waldron. “iSpot recognizes the societal value of properly measuring the TV consumption of racial and ethnic minorities in service of the most representative sample of viewing. Advertisers and networks want to reach these communities to better address their unique needs with more specialized product offerings. Minority communities are thus better served when their specific media consumption is more reliably measured.”