The following is part of TV[R]EV's "Eyes On Local" video series. Interested in learning more? See our new "Local OTT: What You Need to Know" special report.

Local has always been a staple of the television industry, but for a long time, it was only linear. That dynamic's since changed, and local OTT is growing. Understanding how to measure that environment is crucial -- especially now, with local ads taking on a greater importance amid a pandemic and staggered reopenings/closings in different regions across the U.S.

With this in mind, TV[R]EV's Alan Wolk spoke with MadHive CEO Adam Helfgott to learn more:

From Helfgott:

"When I first got into this industry and television the idea of a Nielsen panel seemed silly to me. And it wasn't until I really got into the business of television where I understood that, unlike a phone that you're viewing that where you know who the owner is, you actually have no idea who's sitting on the couch in a household. So the Nielsen panels and all that type of stuff make a lot of sense to design demographics around that.

The modern panels for OTT are not really there yet. There are a bunch of companies doing work there and in the meantime, there are digital companies selling measurement systems to kind of guesstimate who might be on the couch, or at least to know if that household has certain people inside of them.

So right now if an auto intender campaign is sold, and there's an OTT impression available with a member of that household in that auto-intender list generally that OTT impression will be bought for that campaign. There might not be direct evidence via panel in a probabilistic format -- or in a deterministic if that person actually was watching the show -- and that's why we get ads on maybe on a children's show for adult products and things like that."