TV measurement is finally having its moment in the spotlight.
Not long ago, GRPs (Gross Rating Points) were the headline act built for an era when content was broadcast to the masses and media plans followed predictable rhythms. But today, the ecosystem looks nothing like it did - fragmentation is the new norm, the main screen in the home is any screen, and measurement must meet the moment.
Recently in Cannes, we launched the new hashtag - #RIPGRPs - not as a death sentence but as a declaration: the one-size-fits-all approach is over. Marketers and media owners deserve tools that are flexible, future-facing, and built to reflect the ways people actually consume content today.
GRPs are like Band-Aids or Tylenol - universally known, deeply ingrained in the collective conscience, and heavily relied upon - in other words, it has become shorthand for a cure-all. But just because there is comfort in familiarity, it doesn't mean that it is the best fit for the problem at hand. Today’s campaigns need the function GRPs aimed to deliver—reach at scale—but now also require tools that reflect how people actually live, watch, and engage.
The world we live in is one that extends cross-platform where we have access to an increasingly tangled web of platforms from Smart OLED TVs to laptops, combined with even more complex content options across multiple apps, channels, platforms, and devices. What this means for advertisers who rely solely on GRPs to capture this behavior is that they risk losing big picture clarity and put campaign performance, audience connection, and budget efficiency at risk.
Today’s reality is fueled by real-time insights, granular audience understanding, and cross-platform transparency. As we’ve all learned, GRPs can’t keep pace with the nuanced habits of today’s connected consumers. They offer an illusion of the world they claim to represent, failing to account for duplication or reflect the true image of individuals that comprise valuable audiences. The result is an incomplete picture of performance.
No one’s arguing that measurement shouldn’t evolve. It must keep pace with the world it’s meant to measure—a world that’s fast-moving, cross-platform, and shaped by real human behavior.
But what’s stalling progress isn’t the lack of better standards, rather it’s the inertia of a system that makes retaining the status quo easier than creating change. That’s why we’re not just building a smarter standard—we’re architecting the system to support it. A system that’s cross-platform, deduplicated, and outcome-aware and reflects how media actually works and helps marketers see what’s working, where, and why.
We’re not here to trade GRPs for another acronym. We’re here to deliver more clarity and context—the kind that drives confident decisions, and where understanding incrementality leads to real efficiency and value.
Stop settling. Upgrade the system, not just the metric—there’s a better way, and it’s ready.
This isn’t about enforcing a one-size-fits-all approach. It’s about creating a modern measurement infrastructure that can flex to our industry’s complexity.
Comscore’s approach to currency–media planning, transaction and deal activation– supports everything from local broadcast up to national networks, and over to the infamous streaming revolution. We offer a trusted currency across both linear and programmatic pipes, giving agencies and advertisers the ability to transact and activate across platforms without compromising transparency, consistency, or trust.
Think of it like building a currency system that works across borders: unified where it matters, adaptable where it counts. A currency that works globally, rather than trying to push a U.S. dollar into every market.
At Comscore, we’re making measurement a bridge—not a barrier.
Cannes has always been an industry touchstone that serves as an annual melding point of creative inspiration and technological progress. This year, we showed up alongside our partners and peers to spark dialogue and reflect on how far we’ve come—and how much more we can build, together.
It’s time for smarter systems, a more agile measurement, and tools that match the sophistication of today’s media. We’re inviting the industry to collaborate, iterate, and evolve measurement in ways that work better for everyone.
So, #RIPGRPs? Let’s be clear—it’s not the metric we’re burying, it’s the one-size-fits-all mindset. We’re rewriting the system to reflect how media really works. Long live choice, context, and clarity.