The intimate event will allow guests a sneak peek at “Winter’s Eve,” a Gnarly Bay and EarthX Film production directed by Max Lowe. In the short film, which was made in partnership with Polar Bears International, Kishi Bashi, a critically acclaimed composer and adventurous multi-instrumentalist, composes his new single inspired by the plight our planet faces under the threat of climate change.

“iSpot has a broader glimpse of the way viewers view content than simply the panel process. These numbers take into account not only the Nexstar stations and the combination of CW and Nexstar but also set top boxes, connected TVs, out of home and video players, so the attempt here is to be comprehensive and thorough.” [Will Staeger]

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

Vicks reclaimed its title as the top Rx and over-the-counter (OTC) brand for ad impressions during February, according to data released by iSpot.tv Tuesday morning.

It’s also important to note which numbers were used. LIV reported 3.2 million total viewers across the three days, while the early Nielsen numbers were average-minute audience, the industry standard. LIV is also using iSpot, a TV ad measurement and analytics company that offers a different way to measure viewership compared to Nielsen.

AbbVie’s immunology drug Skyrizi took the number one spot in February, according to data from real-time ad trackers at iSpot.TV, with the pharma shelling out $25.6 million on all TV drug ads for Skyrizi last month. That is down by nearly $12 million from January and foreshadows a drop in spending across the board.

To be sure, 2022 saw AI music-tech platform LifeScore raise £11 million from backers including Warner Music Group, and AI music-creation service Soundful (which says that it “enables anyone to create incredible music quickly”) pulled down $3.8 million from Universal Music Group, Disney, and more. Additionally, SoundCloud last year bought Musiio, Songtradr acquired Musicube, and Spotify scooped up Sonantic.

After two years of online-only events, the Guild of Music Supervisors hosted a packed 13th annual GMS Awards ceremony this week at The Wiltern in Los Angeles.

The following was created with the support of Songtradr, part of a broader partnership focused on the sync licensing space.

Here’s a snapshot of TV by the numbers for the week of Feb. 27 through Mar. 5, highlighting the most-watched shows and networks with data from Inscape, the currency-grade smart TV ACR data provider and data technology division of Vizio, with insights from a panel of more than 20 million opted-in TVs. Data is linear, live TV only and includes all episode types (new and reruns). Rankings are by percent share duration (i.e., time spent watching).

Nielsen was among the measurement companies that the JIC requirements were communicated to on March 1, along with Comscore, iSpot, SambaTV, TVSquared, VideoAmp and 605, all of which were formally invited to participating in the forthcoming JIC measurement certification program.q

In November 2000, Viacom Inc. -- forerunner of Paramount Global -- announced a $2.3 billion stock deal to buy BET Holdings, the parent company of Black Entertainment Network. The deal also included taking over nearly $600 million in debt.

Looking at the last 12 months, the BET network pulled in an estimated $348 million in national TV advertising sales, according to iSpot.tv.

Cuadrilla Capital-backed Chartbeat has acquired two other SaaS companies: revenue management specialist Lineup Systems and Tubular Labs, a social video analytics platform.

Seven audience measurement suppliers – Comscore, iSpot, Nielsen, SambaTV, TVSquared, VideoAmp and 605 – have each been formally invited to participate in the certification process, which includes a provision requiring that each company should seek accreditation for industry self-regulatory watchdog, the Media Rating Council, as a condition of certification.

Details: Among the specific standards being pushed are being fully compliant with privacy regulations, seeking accreditation with the Media Rating Council and disclosing big changes in methodology a year before impact.

Measurement companies Comscore, iSpot, Nielsen, Samba TV, TVSquared, VideoAmp and 605 were told the requirements last week and invited to participate in the certification program.

“Creed III” has spent $19.4 million so far on national TV advertising, from 2,850 airings of commercials, resulting in 1.1 billion impressions, according to iSpot.tv.

For the first two months of 2023, theatrical movie national TV spending is down 24% to $256.5 million from the year before, according to iSpot. In 2022, it was at $338.4 million.

In recent months, a TV industry long measured by Nielsen has introduced a group of new vendors the networks hope will prove adept at counting digital and mobile viewing sessions. Advertisers seem willing to experiment with technologies provided by companies like iSpot, VideoAmp, ComScore and Samba. But some advertisers have balked at the prospect of having to do deals with one TV network based on one group of measurement offerings and transactions with a rival based on a different set of methodologies.

The JIC is being managed by OpenAP, the advanced advertising company owned by NBCU, Paramount, Fox and WBD. It has invited Nielsen, iSpot.tv, Comscore, VideoAmp, Innovid’s TVSquared and 605 to participate in the certification process.

“The industry collaboration around measurement standards is important for fostering choice and setting the baseline needed for the adoption of cross-platform measurement,” said Sean Muller,

These requirements were communicated to measurement companies on March 1, keeping with the committee’s previously announced timeline. Comscore, iSpot, Nielsen, SambaTV, TVSquared, VideoAmp and 605 all formally invited to participate.

The JIC requirements call for full transparency around data sets and methodology, and for all currency providers to seek Media Rating Council certification as well. Currently, Comscore has an application in process for its TV measurement and iSpot.tv for the ad recognition portion of its measurement. Nielsen, which is seeking to restore accreditation for its panel-based national TV ratings, has yet to file an application for Nielsen One Ads, which is based primarily on big data sets from set-top boxes and smart TVs.

Wunderkind, the leading performance marketing solution that delivers guaranteed revenue and performance for brands, publishers and advertisers, announced the appointment of Bill Ingram, a proven marketing technology leader, as Chief Executive Officer.