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Reference library · Cross-media measurement
Measurement Currency
Measurement Currency is the single audience or performance data source that a buyer and seller name in the contract as the one that prices the deal and settles delivery against it. Any other data either side holds is informational only and cannot be invoked to dispute payment.
Worked example
A media agency books a TV campaign for a Czech dairy brand at 450 GRPs adults 25-54, with Kantar Media as the contracted currency. The broadcaster's own panel shows 460 GRPs delivered; Kantar reports 430. Because Kantar is the named currency, the deal settles on 430, a 20-GRP shortfall (4.4%) that the broadcaster must cover with make-good spots, and the broadcaster's own 460 figure has no standing in the dispute.
How it is used
Currency is fixed in the insertion order or upfront deal memo before flight, naming the exact provider, methodology, and audience definition (e.g. Kantar TV panel, adults 25-54, universe estimate 2026). What is counted instead of a formula is a status: which source's numbers are binding for invoicing and make-goods. The mistake practitioners make is treating currency as implicit or assuming it because 'that's the source we always use' — when it isn't written into the contract, either side can produce a favorable alternate number after the fact and there is no agreed arbiter.
The common mistake
Name the measurement currency explicitly in the contract before flight instead of assuming both sides mean the same source.