Measurement · also called VCR, completion rate
Video completion rate (VCR)
Video completion rate (VCR) is the percentage of video ads that played all the way to the end, out of those that started playing.
VCR is a basic video ad metric: completed views divided by starts. If 100,000 video ads start and 72,000 play to the end, VCR is 72%. Players report progress through VAST tracking events such as start, first quartile, midpoint, third quartile and complete.
VCR depends heavily on the environment. Non-skippable instream video on CTV often shows very high completion, because viewers cannot skip and the TV is not scrolling. Skippable ads on mobile, and outstream video that autoplays in feeds, typically show much lower completion. Short ads complete more often than long ones.
VCR is useful but easy to misread. A high VCR in CTV does not prove anyone was in the room, and fraudsters can fire fake completion events, particularly in SSAI spoofing schemes, so completion should be checked alongside invalid traffic measurement. Many advertisers buy video on cost per completed view (CPCV), which makes VCR directly tied to cost.
Think of it like this
VCR is like the percentage of people who stayed until the end of a short film rather than walking out.
An example
A 15-second ad in a Chilean streaming app's CTV version completes 96% of the time; the same ad as a skippable mobile pre-roll completes 38% of the time.
Related terms
VAST
VAST (Video Ad Serving Template) is the IAB Tech Lab standard XML format that tells a video player which ad to play, where to fetch it and which tracking events to report.
CPV (cost per view)
CPV (cost per view) is a video ad pricing model where the advertiser pays each time the video counts as viewed, according to the platform's definition of a view.
Instream video
Instream video is a video ad that plays within a video player before, during or after video content the viewer chose to watch, such as pre-roll, mid-roll or post-roll.
Outstream video
Outstream video is a video ad that plays outside of video content, for example within an article, a social feed or between paragraphs, usually auto-playing muted as it scrolls into view.
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.
Sources: IAB Tech Lab VAST