CTV & video · also called Automatic content recognition
ACR (automatic content recognition)
ACR (automatic content recognition) is technology, often built into smart TVs, that identifies what is on screen by matching audio or video fingerprints, used for audience measurement and ad targeting.
A smart TV with ACR periodically samples what is displayed or heard and compares it against a database of shows, films and ads. It can therefore tell what a household watched, including Linear TV broadcasts, streaming, games and even the specific ads, regardless of the source.
TV manufacturers and data companies use ACR data to measure audiences, to see whether a household saw an advertiser's TV ad, to build audience segments (for example "watched a competitor's ad"), to extend TV campaigns to other devices, and for Addressable TV and CTV targeting. Because it covers linear and streaming alike, it is a key input for cross-platform TV measurement.
ACR raises privacy concerns, because it tracks viewing habits in the home. In 2017 the US FTC and New Jersey reached a $2.2 million settlement with TV maker Vizio over collecting viewing data without users' informed consent. Today, ACR is usually opt-in during TV setup, and laws such as GDPR and CCPA / CPRA apply. Coverage varies by manufacturer and country.
Think of it like this
ACR is like a TV that listens to itself and keeps a diary of what it showed, which it can share with advertisers if you allow it.
An example
A soft-drink brand uses ACR data to find smart-TV households that did not see its linear TV ad during a football final, then targets them with CTV ads the following week.
Related terms
Addressable TV
Addressable TV is the ability to show different ads to different households watching the same programme, based on data about each household, across set-top boxes, smart TVs or streaming.
CTV (connected TV)
CTV (connected TV) is any television connected to the internet, such as a smart TV, streaming stick, games console or set-top box, and the advertising shown in streaming apps on it.
Linear TV
Linear TV is traditional scheduled television, broadcast, cable or satellite, where viewers watch programmes at the time the channel airs them, with ad breaks sold to all viewers of that channel.
Household ID
A household ID is an identifier representing a home and the devices in it, rather than one person, used mainly in CTV and addressable TV for targeting, frequency capping and measurement.
Audience segment
An audience segment is a group of people or devices defined by shared characteristics, such as demographics, interests, purchase behaviour or intent, used to target or measure advertising.
Sources: IAB Tech Lab CTV standards, California Attorney General: CCPA