This is the latest Innovator Spotlight interview from our TVREV Special Report, Local TV: Perils And Promise In The Age Of Streaming, which you can download for free.

“Media monitoring is going to play a key role in the next chapter of television,” notes CCR Media CEO Shea Kelly. “There’s so much complexity being introduced into the way it is distributed that there’s a real need for someone who can provide a high level of accuracy in media monitoring. That’s especially true for local broadcasters who seem to be making use of more distribution channels than everyone.”

AW: Let’s start off talking about CCR and why you’ve become the media monitoring platform of choice for almost all the major players in the space.

SK: What sets us apart is our focus on quality. We provide better monitoring because we come from the infrastructure space, where we have a deep understanding of cybersecurity, data privacy, and all the elements that make up a robust infrastructure organization. We also prioritize simplicity for our customers, offering a single destination with one screen for all their monitoring needs. Unlike other systems where customers may have to log into multiple platforms, with us, you can access everything you need from one place, anywhere in the world. That's what matters to us.

ALAN WOLK (AW) What are some of the big challenges that local broadcasters are facing in terms of media monitoring? 

SHEA KELLY (SK):  One of the big challenges local broadcasters face is understanding the actual value of the measurements they are collecting. Broadcasters are trying to streamline operations, but at the same time, the industry is getting a lot more complex, there are so many more distribution points. So they try to operate centrally, but think locally. And the question most of them are struggling with is how do you create that local content more cost-effectively, and then actually distribute it to all those different platforms?

AW: Is there anyone who seems to have figured it out—for instance, do the bigger station groups have an easier time with it?

SK:  If you’re trying to centralize operations, then it helps to be part of a group—you can gain economies of scale. And solo stations, they are sort of on their own. That said, if you have a sophisticated engineering team, size is not going to matter. I’ve seen both big and small operations who have figured it out.

AW:  What sort of challenges does the move to streaming present in terms of measurement?

SK: Many local broadcasters are also pushing their content, especially their news content, out to streaming services, either the FASTs or their own apps or both. From a measurement standpoint it means you need to monitor more. You don't just get to monitor your one feed, you have to monitor all the different distribution paths. So it becomes more complex, especially when the content is geo-fenced. Because with streaming you need to monitor whatever locations the content is geo-fenced to, as it’s on a zip code level, not a DMA-level.

AW: So different ads can go to different zip codes even within the same DMA?

SK: That’s correct. The more targeted you get, you can wind up going down to the zip code level. We actually have clients that we monitor within certain zip codes. It makes measurement much trickier, but you also get very targeted results, which is nice from an advertiser's perspective.

AW: So how does that work? How does CCR do media monitoring within a specific zip code?

SK: We would partner with the cable company and certain head ends that they need to monitor because those distribution points are different. So it's really about partnering with the customer and partnering with the cable companies too and then setting up the local data center to actually do the monitoring. And I should note that you have to set up shop in each zip code to monitor what is being served there, you can’t do it from a central location. 

AW: So, what do you see as some of the growth areas for media monitoring, especially as it pertains to local and broadcast? 

SK: Distribution has become more complex. With the rise in distribution channels, there's more to monitor. Just because you send out your stream doesn't mean it arrived intact. Before, you mainly had to monitor your local cable company and ATSC 1.0. Now, you've got 10 cable companies and 10 different platforms, and with ATSC 3.0 coming up, the complexity has increased exponentially. Therefore, the growth in media monitoring will be driven by the need to monitor more, as distribution continues to become even more complex and hyper localized. And as it gets more complex, it becomes more critical to accurately monitor it.

AW: On a macro level, where do you see growth in this area coming from the next five to 10 years as more and more delivery moves to streaming?

SK: I think the growth in media monitoring will come from several different areas. It's not just about the monitoring itself, but also the management aspect. As delivery moves from production all the way through to distribution, monitoring becomes just one piece of the process. The growth will be in how we can assist in managing the entire process, making it more of a managed service. We'll need to monitor closely from production all the way through the path. While streaming is obviously a significant area of growth, there's more work to be done from an infrastructure perspective to help manage the whole network.

AW: Can you give me an example of what that would look like?

SK: One example would be to help the broadcaster manage their feeds inside their facility, sending them out to a rapidly growing number of distribution endpoints, and then monitoring on the other end. We would assist them in bringing full visibility, not just at the edge, but all the way to the endpoint. It would make our offering into more of a fully managed service than what we are being asked for right now. We are monitoring the feed from when it leaves the station, making sure it remains stable all the way through.