Indie streamers prove their value, reaching 15% of U.S. homes
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John Moulding
| 13 October 2023
3 Indie streamers prove their value reaching 15 of U.S. homes

The Independent Streaming Alliance, which emphasises the importance of independent ad-supported streamers and works collaboratively to ensure a healthy ecosystem for them, has proved that its members reach nearly 15% of TV households in the U.S.

The organisation, which was formed in June, commissioned third-party measurement specialists iSpot to measure their aggregate reach. This showed that together, alliance members reach nearly 18 million U.S. TV households. “These figures further reinforce the valuable role that independent streamers and content creators play in the media landscape,” the alliance says.

The iSpot study measured a cross-section of advertising campaigns that ran across Independent Streaming Alliance (ISA) publishers and FAST channels during a two-month window. iSpot harnessed its second-by-second ad measurement and panel of 40 million Smart TVs, which includes co-viewing insights, to uncover the viewing scale.

The ISA founding members are Allen Media Group, Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, Cineverse, Future Today, kweliTV, Revry, The E.W. Scripps Company, Tastemade, TMB (Trusted Media Brands) and Vevo. These companies joined forces to promote the value of independent streamers, and the ISA is dedicated to working with external stakeholders including platforms, advertisers, regulators and other industry participants.

At launch, ISA members listed various incentives for working together:
Promote the value of independent streamers.
Contribute membership experience (which includes early FAST adopters) to solving marketplace challenges, including content discovery, data privacy and demand transparency.
Ensure independent programming is represented when solving industry challenges.
Define standards and best practices that will benefit consumers, advertisers, and programmers alike.
Support diverse programming to audiences, advocate for more diverse programming, and ensure the health of the FAST marketplace that serves under-represented communities.
Highlight and represent minority-owned businesses.
Work with stakeholders to ensure a healthy ecosystem for everyone.
Lobby for a more equitable playing field across the industry, and even level up the streaming ecosystem.



Tim Ware, Senior Vice President of Sales and Partnerships at Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, says of the iSpot reach study: “The first order of business upon forming the ISA was to work with a top CTV measurement provider that would validate our value proposition to the millions of viewers we collectively serve.

“iSpot was the obvious choice when it came to selecting a partner whose methodology captured actual viewership. We are thrilled with the results of this initial study.”

“iSpot is proud to work with the ISA to support a measurement initiative like this that drives transparency throughout the media ecosystem,” comments Stuart Schwartzapfel, EVP, Media Partnerships, iSpot. “As an independent measurement provider, we saw this as a great opportunity to leverage our leading currency-grade solutions to help ISA uncover actionable insights surrounding the aggregate viewership of niche publishers for marketers, brands and agencies.”

The ISA has three working groups today, focused on:

Measurement: The ‘Measurement’ working group will size alliance members’ collective value for platforms and brand marketers, including working with third-party measurement providers, aggregating viewership and jointly messaging the virtues of the alliance to promote its value to platforms and brand marketers.
Distribution: The ‘Distribution’ working group is focused on developing and sharing best practices for growing audiences for its members while also working directly with platforms to ensure there are fair business practices in place to ensure an even playing field for everyone.
Demand: The ‘Demand’ working group is focused on working with SSPs, DMP, brands and agencies to ensure its members' advertising may be purchased and sold seamlessly in compliance with industry norms – whether through direct IO or leading programmatic buying platforms.