CIMM and SMPTE issue Industrywide RFI

Groups Solicit Industry Input on Approaches to Binding Unique Content Identifiers to Media

Establishment of a UPC for All Professional Program Content and Ads Moves Forward

NEW YORK Dec. 17, 2013 The Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) and the Society for Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) today announced they have issued a formal industrywide Request for Information (RFI) seeking technologies for the optimal open-standard technical solution for binding Ad-ID and Entertainment Identifier Registry (EIDR) coding to all advertising and program content assets. Technical solution providers are encouraged to participate in the RFI, which is available http://cimm-us.org/initiatives-2/rfps/.

The media industry currently has no open, uniform method of content identification that survives compression and distribution through the supply chain. Putting such an identification method in place is a critical next step toward the establishment of an interoperable standard for all professional video content that can be used throughout the entire media ecosystem.

In August 2013, CIMM and SMPTE formed a study group comprising CIMM members and representatives from media organizations, ad agencies, and vendors that were charged with formulating an understanding of technologies and future standards requirements that can be applied to content identification. Authoring this RFI was part of the group's charter.

We are encouraged by the study group's progress thus far and the industry's level of engagement in this significant and necessary endeavor aimed at fixing a broken, antiquated system, said CIMM Managing Director Jane Clarke. Our hope with this RFI is to tap into the minds of some of the best and brightest in the industry and bring them into the fold of what continues to be a collaborative industrywide effort.

Given the continually expanding array of delivery platforms and the increase in targeted delivery of content, being able to identify advertising and program material as it is consumed over the plethora of devices out there has become critical, said MediAnswers President and CEO Chris Lennon, who is the Study Group Chair. The RFI announced today reflects the work of many different stakeholders contending with this issue, and the response we receive will play a fundamental role in ensuring that the methodology ultimately adopted best serves the industry's content identification requirements.

CIMM's advocacy platform, Trackable Asset Cross-Platform Identification (TAXI), has called on the media industry to coalesce around unique identifying codes similar to the ubiquitous Universal Product Codes (UPC) used in other industries provided by either Ad-ID, the industry standard for identifying advertising assets across all media platforms, or EIDR, a global registry for unique identification of movie and TV content. Participating media companies that embrace this approach can better monetize video assets across distribution platforms, increase efficiency and accuracy of media workflows, and improve cross-platform media measurement by making it easier to track assets across television, broadband, and mobile video.

Technical solution providers may contact Lennon at clennon@medianswers.tv with any questions about the RFI.

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About CIMM

The Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) is comprised of leading video content providers, media agencies and advertisers that aim to promote innovation and foster efficiencies in audience measurement for television and cross-platform video. CIMM explores and identifies new methodologies in audience measurement and verifies these approaches through a series of pilot tests and studies conducted with independent measurement companies. CIMM's primary focus is on two key areas: the current and future potential of television measurement through the use of return-path data, and new methods for cross-platform media measurement. www.cimm-us.org

About the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers

The Oscar and Emmy Award-winning Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), a professional membership association, is the worldwide leader in developing and providing motion-imaging standards and education for the communications, technology, media, and entertainment industries. An internationally recognized and accredited organization, SMPTE advances moving-imagery education and engineering across the broadband, broadcast, cinema, and IT disciplines. Since its founding in 1916, SMPTE has published the SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal and developed more than 650 standards, recommended practices, and engineering guidelines. More than 6,000 members motion-imaging executives, engineers, creative and technology professionals, researchers, scientists, educators, and students who meet in Sections throughout the world, sustain the Society. Information on joining SMPTE is available at www.smpte.org/join.

LINK:	https://www.smpte.org/news-events/news-releases/cimm-and-smpte-issue-i...
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