The firm has linked up with BroadSign International, a software-as-a-service provider for the out-of-home video market, in a deal that will see data from PPMs compared with BroadSign’s commercial schedule logs to ensure that the correct content is being shown at the right time.

PPM technology will be used to conduct a series of annual audits capturing when encoded audio and video advertising content is displayed on 50 BroadSign-run screens across the US.

Arbitron said the audit is the first of its kind in the digital out-of-home industry, and replaces the previous method of manually monitoring screens.

BroadSign International’s president and chief strategy officer, Brian Dusho, said: “For screen audience numbers to be relevant to advertisers, you have to prove first that their ads are played as scheduled and the screens were on. By auditing our proof-of-play reporting system with the help of Arbitron, we are giving our client networks an added level of transparency and assurance for justifying ad rate cards and for their negotiations with advertisers.”

Alton Adams, executive vice president at Arbitron, said: “The PPM technology will help establish the first tier of accountability to digital out-of-home advertisers, laying the foundation for any other measurement in this new medium. The technology is well-suited to capture proof-of-play as it captures distinct content and the time of broadcast.”