Check connected TV advertising service standards before you sign

What to take away

Decide whether you will accept a platform's default service terms or negotiate measurable standards before signing.
Write down minimum standards for creative approval turnaround, delivery reporting and data consent, then test them in a pilot.
Use the numbered sequence below to move from an internal draft to a signed schedule without gaps.
Keep a named owner for each standard, because unowned standards are not standards.

Why service standards decide whether your campaign runs cleanly

A connected TV advertising service standard is the measurable promise a platform or agency makes about how your campaign will be handled. It covers creative checks, trafficking windows, reporting cadence and how quickly problems are fixed. Without written standards, delivery slips become arguments rather than fixes.

Standards also decide what you can prove later. If reporting is monthly and sign-off is verbal, you cannot show a client why a spot ran late. The wider Connected TV advertising: operations and delivery guide can help map commitments across delivery; this checklist sets out the terms to record.

What should you check before agreeing terms?

Start with creative specifications. Ask the seller for the current accepted formats, durations, file limits and written service schedule; confirm which party controls each term and whether it varies by inventory. Depending on the booking, request the applicable terms from Sky Media, ITVX, Channel 4, Netflix, Amazon, Roku or Samsung TV Plus rather than assuming one seller's defaults apply to all. Thinkbox guidance on Creative opportunities in BVOD advertising explains how different ad lengths and formats behave on broadcaster video on demand, which helps you set a realistic spec sheet.

Pre-agreement checks

Creative specsformats, durations, file limits
Approval turnaroundreview hours, rejection process
Reporting fields, frequency and time zone
Co-viewing estimates included or excluded

Check approval turnaround. Ask how many working hours a platform takes to review a new creative and what happens when it is rejected. A two working day window for first review is common; a team booking a £30,000 campaign across three platforms should have that written down before assets are built.

Check reporting fields, frequency, delivery deadline and time zone. Daily delivery data sounds generous until you learn it excludes co-viewing estimates; specify the fields and definitions you need, rather than accepting a cadence without knowing what the report contains.

Reporting and delivery terms to put in the schedule

Require campaign and platform or placement breakdowns for impressions and spend, with reporting by date and creative. Also specify completed video views, completion rate and video-through rate (VTR), including the definitions used for each; ask for device and demographic splits and whether co-viewing figures are estimates or measured observations.

State when reports are due, the time zone, how corrected reports are identified, and the method and deadline for resolving discrepancies. For delivery, record the asset deadline, trafficking and go-live confirmation, and the remedy if delivery is late. Define the discrepancy process and any make-good or credit remedy, including who approves it. For UK audience estimates, ask whether figures are measured by BARB (the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board); separately identify any independent verification or audit of campaign delivery.

How do you handle consent and data standards?

Consent is a service standard, not a legal afterthought. The Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR) govern storing information on, or accessing information from, a user's device, subject to limited exceptions. Where personal data is involved, the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 also apply. The ICO guidance on cookies and storage and access technologies explains the requirements; put in the schedule who checks them, who obtains and records consent, and how consent signals and withdrawals are passed through the supply chain.

Consent and data standards

Clear information and lawful basis for storage
How consent signals travel through supply chain
Named contact accountable for consent failures
Who checks creative against advertising codes

Ask your platform how consent signals travel through the supply chain and who is accountable when they do not. Put that answer in the schedule, with a named contact.

Advertising codes matter too, and enforcement is public. The ASA news and updates page records rulings and guidance; the CAP Code applies to non-broadcast ads and the BCAP Code to broadcast ads. A service standard should state who checks creative against the applicable code before trafficking and who handles a compliance issue.

Which roles own each standard?

Ownership fails when it is shared informally. Assign one owner per standard: the production lead checks creative specs and approval, the data protection contact owns consent requirements, and the media manager checks reporting. A short roster prevents the usual handover gaps, and Connected TV advertising team roles in England shows how those responsibilities map onto a small in-house team.

Escalation needs a named person and a time limit: if a creative rejection is unresolved after one working day, it goes to the account lead.

A numbered sequence for agreeing standards

List every touchpoint from brief and asset receipt through creative review, trafficking, delivery monitoring, issue resolution and final report; mark where a delay could stop delivery.
Draft a minimum standard for each touchpoint, using hours or working days rather than vague phrases. Include the first-review deadline, rejection and revision process, trafficking and go-live confirmation, reporting fields and escalation route.
Ask each relevant seller for its current default terms in writing, including creative review times, trafficking requirements, reporting fields and remedies. Confirm which terms apply to your booking.
Compare the written defaults against your draft in a single table; record gaps in metrics, definitions, deadlines, time zones, discrepancy handling and make-goods.
Pilot the standards with one campaign, logging actual turnaround against the promise.
Revise the draft where the pilot shows the standard was unrealistic, then agree the discrepancy process, late-delivery remedy and named escalation contacts.
Sign the final schedule with named owners and review it each quarter.

Common questions

How long should creative approval take?

Aim for a written commitment of one to two working days for a first review. Anything longer should trigger an escalation contact, especially when launch dates are fixed.

Do service standards need to cover privacy?

Yes. If targeting or measurement touches cookies or device storage, the standard should name who checks consent and how signals are passed along the chain.

Can we set standards without a pilot?

You can draft them, but a pilot campaign reveals whether the numbers are realistic. One campaign is usually enough to expose weak assumptions.

Who signs off the final schedule?

The person accountable for delivery, normally the media lead, with the data protection contact confirming any consent clauses before signature.