Task Force Introduces Consumption-Based Metrics For Audio And Video Podcasts.

The Alliance for Measurement in Podcasting (AMP), the mew task force dedicated to creating a common industry framework to spur more ad spending, has released its first set of standards that it believes can work alongside the traditional download metric. The AMP Task Force ratified a new framework with four consumption-based definitions, including what constitutes a podcast play and advertising impression.

To address the growing need for consistent cross-platform measurement, the AMP Task Force unanimously approved a new framework that establishes four common metrics for podcast consumption and advertising. Under the standards, a Podcast Play is recorded when at least 30 seconds of audio or video content is consumed during a session, while Podcast Audience measures the number of unique users generating those plays. On the advertising side, an Ad Impression is counted when a commercial begins playing, and Ad Audience reflects the number of users exposed to that ad.

The framework shifts podcast measurement from delivery-based metrics to consumption-based metrics, creating a common language for both audio and video podcasts. The standards are designed to work across platforms and distribution channels, with growing support from HLS-enabled technology helping improve consistency. Rather than replacing existing measurement systems, AMP says the framework is intended to serve as a supplemental layer that allows publishers, platforms and advertisers to compare performance across audio and video environments using a shared set of definitions. It also seeks to preserve the download metric as a delivery signal where it remains useful.

“For years, the buy side and the sell side have argued about whether a ‘download’ equals a ‘listen,’ and how YouTube ‘views’ should be counted alongside podcast downloads,” Podscribe CEO Pete Birsinger says. “The AMP exposure framework finally gives the industry the answer it has needed: a single, consumption-based metric that can work across Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and everywhere else.”

Beyond these exposure definitions, AMP continues to develop a universal definition of “podcast.” That is expected when it outlines its full guidance along with an implementation guide at Oxford Road’s CAO Summit in July.

Oxford Road CEO Dan Granger says moving beyond the download as a measure of listening has been in the works for a while, and he believes the evolution will give the industry the fresh momentum it’s needed for nearly a decade.

“Selling apples, oranges and bananas at the same price and calling it a tomato may have worked for a while, but it makes for a lousy Bloody Mary,” Granger says. “The time has come to harmonize the way we calculate and price audience exposure, no matter where someone played a podcast. This removes a major bottleneck that has undermined trust and clarity and held back the growth of audiences, and advertising dollars.”

AMP was announced last month, but its members say they have been quietly meeting for the past year on a project that will not only create a set of definitions and metrics but also address what they see as a business at a crossroads. The group’s initial focus has been on standardizing impression metrics, including defining units that all major platforms can agree on. They’re also working toward the development of cross-platform performance measurement by creating a consistent attribution method acceptable to both open RSS and closed platforms.