Quite a quick investigation and resolution from comScore… but let’s have a recap into the whole story:

- a relatively obscure video network, YuMe, found itself ranked #8 in June’s Ad Focus rankings, with a reported audience of 134 million unique visitors and 71% reach among U.S. Internet users – all this as a result of their recent deal with Microsoft to monetize their remnant video inventory;

- raised voices in the industry led to a brief investigation, when comScore decided to demote YuMe to the 35th place and discount the Microsoft traffic as it was ‘inappropriately assigned’;

- YuMe protests and demands more uniform measurement procedures across ad networks, or a split between traditional display ad networks and video ad networks;

- comScore responds in just a couple of days and reinstates YuMe, saying ‘ComScore has verified that a legitimate business relationship exists between YuMe and Microsoft through documentation provided.’

While YuMe can rejoice now for the second time, there are major question marks in regard to comScore’s transparency:

- how’s their justification standing, since the initial issue wasn’t the ‘legitimacy’ of the YuMe – Microsoft deal, but the way impressions were counted (the whole Microsoft traffic was counted into YuMe’s network, and not only the one actually monetized by YuMe);

- what are the implication of comScore’s recent statement that ‘YuMe meets all current rules for inclusion as a custom entity in the Ad Focus category’ – if this is a custom entry in the rankings, how is it measurable and comparable with the other entries?

What is the story, anyway?

Back in July 21st, comScore reported that YuMe had over 134 million unique visitors in June – this figure made YuMe the 8th largest ad network overall, and undoubtedly the largest video ad network.

Here’s what the original comScore Media Metrix report for June 2008 stated:

1. Platform-A / 170,312
2. Yahoo! Network / 158,064
3. Google Ad Network / 154,419
4. Specific Media / 148,311
5. ValueClick Networks / 141,915
6. Yahoo! / 138,426
7. Tribal Fusion / 137,569
8. YuMe Video Network / 134,864
9. Google / 131,697
10. Casale Media Network 128,569

However, comScore’s Ad Focus report for June shows YuMe to be ranked 32nd, with only 59.2 million unique visitors.

What has happened?

The web measurement service simply changed their initial rankings and hasn’t even notified YuMe or otherwise publicly note a correction. A spokesperson for comScore said that some of the MSN traffic assigned to YuMe was incorrect and that the new figures published in the Ad Focus report do not include this “inappropriately assigned” traffic. The sudden surge in traffic volumes registered by YuMe in June were, indeed, a result of their earlier deal with Microsoft to serve ads on their remnant inventory – however, the initial comScore figures counted all MSN page views and not only the ones where ads were actually served.

Molly Gallatin, Director of Marketing for YuMe, expressed her disappointment over comScore not using the same rules for all sites: “it’s fine if comScore decided the way visitors are rolled up in the Ad Focus report is not ideal and they want to change how the report is compiled. But then they have to change it for everyone, not just one network.”

What YuMe brought to everybody’s attention is that it’s customary for ad networks to get credit for all traffic of a site and not just for the monetized inventory, since all traffic represents a possible audience for the ads across a portal – especially in YuMe’s case when most of MSN’s pages carry videos.

YuMe is now working with comScore to provide additional data on their agreements with various publishers, and hope to have their initial ranking as number 8 restored, or at least reach a compromise.

Arguably, video networks should be separated from display ad networks since the comparison would not be fair: video ads can run both within videos and in display ad units. The major source of inexactities and conflicts when comparing video networks with display ad networks is that, in the case on in-stream ads, they only run when a visitor engages with the video, thus remaining uncounted for a large portion of the page views.

What will comScore do? The fair option is to simply split the rankings, as YuMe suggested. Another one would be to publicly announce a new uniform methodology in ranking the ad networks, after discussions and agreements with all parties involved. What will it be, no idea yet.