Industry

ITV has selected Yospace, the global leader in Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI), to deploy an advanced advertising measurement and delivery solution across its channels on Freely, the free streaming platform developed by Everyone TV in partnership with the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5.

Freely represents a major evolution for free-to-air television in the UK, allowing audiences to stream live and on-demand content at no cost, without the need for a dish, aerial or set-top box. Built around a shared player model, the platform presents unique technical challenges, as it does not allow for the use of multiple embedded SDKs typically required to enable IAB-compliant ad measurement. In addition, any solution had to align with Freely’s technical framework, including the HbbTV Operator Application (OpApp) specification.

To meet these requirements, ITV sought a new approach capable of delivering a broadcast-quality advertising experience alongside accurate, industry-standard reporting across all Freely-enabled devices. In an industry first, Yospace delivered a dynamic ad insertion solution combined with Client-Guided Ad Measurement (CGAM), enabling real-time, IAB-compliant ad reporting without the need for SDK integration.

The solution works by allowing the shared Freely player to communicate directly with a Yospace API using its specific playback position. This interaction generates the data needed to provide consistent and reliable ad measurement across all supported devices, overcoming one of the key barriers to scalable measurement in shared-player streaming environments.

“Working with Yospace on this innovative new solution means we can give advertisers the insight they need by confidently measuring advertising results. ITV has partnered with Yospace for over a decade as we increasingly look for new developments to make sure our clients can make the most of their ad spend," said Thomas Thomas, Director of Engineering at ITV.

Beyond the immediate deployment, the initiative also laid the groundwork for broader industry standardisation. As part of this effort, Yospace ensured that the latest Common Media Client Data v2 (CMCDv2) specification includes the necessary extensions to support CGAM. Once formally ratified, the standard will allow any CMCDv2-compliant player to deliver trusted ad measurement without additional device integration, a significant step forward for accurately measuring advertising across complex and hard-to-reach streaming endpoints, including syndicated content environments.

“Our collaboration with Everyone TV and ITV has helped create a genuinely meaningful solution to an ad measurement problem,” said Tim Sewell, CEO of Yospace. “Through the upcoming CMCDv2 standard, this innovation will now be opened up for every other broadcaster.”