ACR Data Explained

Sponsored by Nexxen

You cannot target what you cannot see. Viewers are everywhere—bouncing among linear, streaming, and digital screens—which makes it harder than ever to know what is actually being watched. That is where automated content recognition (ACR) data comes in. It gives advertisers a real-time signal of what content appeared on a connected TV, offering a clearer picture of exposure and helping power smarter targeting, frequency management, and cross-screen measurement. 

The Ad Tech Explained Team developed this explainer, in partnership with Nexxen, to help you unpack what ACR data is, how it works, and why it is reshaping how advertisers think about targeting and measurement.

First things first: What is automated content recognition (ACR)?

ACR is a technology built into smart TVs that can, with a viewer’s opt-in, detect and identify what is playing on the screen in real time, whether it is a live sports broadcast, an on-demand show, a commercial, or even a video game.

So then, what is ACR data?  

ACR data is the anonymized, aggregated output from smart TVs equipped with ACR technology, collected passively and in an opted-in capacity, without relying on cookies. It tells advertisers what content people have seen and when they saw it. This data comes from millions of opted-in devices and provides a real-world signal of exposure. The ACR data provides a window into real-world viewing behavior, helping advertisers understand what audiences have seen so they can plan, target, and measure more effectively.

ACR data is all about what is happening on people’s TVs. But is it useful beyond the big screen?

Absolutely. ACR data plays a central role in omnichannel strategies by connecting TV exposure to activity across other devices.

Take Nexxen’s use of ACR data as an example. With Nexxen’s cross-screen capabilities, advertisers can:

• Extend reach across mobile, desktop, and social

• Understand how TV ads influence digital behavior

• Manage frequency across channels

• Measure the full customer journey from impression to outcome

That makes sense. How is this data specifically being put to use by advertisers?

Advertisers use ACR data to make smarter, more impactful media decisions. Some common strategies include:

• Retargeting viewers who saw a brand’s ad on linear TV with follow-ups across digital TV and other devices

• Suppressing already-reached households to reduce waste

• Engaging viewers of competitors’ ads to win share of voice

• Aligning with premium content and tentpole events to boost relevance and recall

Financial services brand Empower, for example, worked with Nexxen to reconnect with audiences who had seen their ads—and competitors’ ads—during programming for one of the most-viewed sports events. The result was an 11% lift in aided awareness, a 58% increase in brand recall, and a 50% boost in consideration.

In Australia, health insurer Bupa used Nexxen’s ACR data to exclude more than 830,000 households already exposed to its linear ads. The campaign then reached 1.2 million additional households across digital TV, driving a 16% lift in incremental reach and uncovering that 94% of FAST audiences were entirely new.

Are there any limitations advertisers should keep in mind with ACR data?

Like any data source, ACR is most effective when it is leveraged as part of a larger strategy. It reflects viewership from opted-in smart TVs. So while incredibly valuable, it should be considered one signal among many in a cross-screen world.

That’s why Nexxen is expanding its partnership with VIDAA, the operating system behind millions of Hisense and Toshiba smart TVs, which provides Nexxen with exclusive access to VIDAA’s ACR data for use by advertisers on our platform. The recently renewed agreement will grow the availability of verified viewership data on the open internet and enable more precise audience targeting and measurement. For advertisers, this means greater control over ad frequency, fewer wasted impressions from repeat exposures, and a clearer view of how TV exposure drives results across different screens.

About Nexxen 

Nexxen empowers advertisers, agencies, publishers, and broadcasters around the world to utilize data and advanced TV in the ways that are most meaningful to them. The company’s flexible and unified technology stack comprises a demand-side platform (DSP) and supply-side platform (SSP), with the Nexxen Data Platform at its core. With streaming in its DNA, Nexxen’s robust capabilities span discovery, planning, activation, monetization, measurement, and optimization – available individually or in combination – all designed to enable partners to achieve their goals, no matter how far-reaching or hyper niche they may be.

Nexxen is headquartered in Israel and maintains offices throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, and is traded on the Nasdaq (NEXN). For more information, visit www.nexxen.com.