OpenEPG™ Index: Monthly Rankings

What is the Pixalate OpenEPG™ Index?

The Pixalate OpenEPG™ Index is a free, open-source monthly ranking of streaming TV shows, built from real-world U.S. open programmatic advertising activity and U.S. consumer reach. It is the advertising industry's first public benchmark of streaming content that spans both the small screen (mobile) and the large screen (Connected TV / CTV).

Updated every month, the Index ranks the top streaming shows by the share of U.S. consumers they reach, and reports a set of additional dimensions for each show — including estimated open programmatic ad spend, genre, device, platform, U.S. media-market coverage, top daypart, and Invalid Traffic (IVT) rate.

What does the OpenEPG™ Index measure?

The Index ranks streaming TV shows across two screen dimensions — large screen versus small screen — and across operating systems: Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Samsung TV, Apple TV, iOS, and Android. Each ranked show is measured across the following dimensions:

Consumer Reach — The share of U.S. consumers reached by the show (Share of Voice).
Programmatic Ad Spend — Estimated open programmatic ad spend associated with the show.
Genre — The content category in which the show is classified (e.g., Sports, Comedy).
Top DMA (and SOV %) —The Designated Market Area (DMA) in which the show reached the largest audience, and that DMA's share of the show's total reach (Share of Voice).
Top Daypart — The show's most popular daypart on a given platform (EST timezone).
IVT Rate — The share of impressions classified as Invalid Traffic, based on Pixalate's MRC-accredited detection.

How are the rankings calculated?

Shows are ranked by reach — the share of U.S. consumers a show reaches across screens. For each ranked show, the Index then reports the additional dimensions listed above (ad spend, genre, top daypart, and IVT rate).

The rankings are built from activity in the open programmatic ecosystem. As a result, coverage extends across FAST channels, news, sports, and single-network apps. Pixalate continuously scales the underlying mapping criteria, and additional streaming channels, content networks, and platforms are added to the Index in subsequent monthly updates.

Interpreting OpenEPG™ Index Data

Interpreting the Final Ranking

A show's final rank reflects the breadth of U.S. consumer reach it achieved within a given screen or platform during the month. Buyers and researchers can use this ranking to identify the streaming content reaching the widest audiences across large and small screens.

A higher rank in the OpenEPG™ Index primarily indicates that a show reached a larger share of U.S. consumers (Share of Voice) than other shows on the same screen

Shows with lower ranks may still represent meaningful viewership but reach a narrower audience.

Supplemental signals displayed alongside the final rank — such as genre, top daypart, and IVT rates— vary by screen and are provided as additional context.

Interpreting the IVT Rate

The IVT (Invalid Traffic) rate reflects the share of a show's impressions classified as Invalid Traffic under Pixalate's MRC-accredited detection. For a complete list of reported IVT types, please refer to this article.

Frequently asked questions

Is the OpenEPG™ Index free? Yes. The Index is a free, open-source monthly ranking.

How often is the Index updated? The Index is updated on a monthly basis. Additional streaming channels, content networks, and platforms are added in subsequent monthly updates as Pixalate scales its underlying criteria.

Which platforms does the Index cover? The Index covers Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Samsung TV, Apple TV, iOS, and Android, spanning both small-screen (mobile) and large-screen (CTV).

Does a publisher need to opt in to be measured? No. The Index is built from the open programmatic ecosystem and requires no publisher opt-in, which allows it to measure FAST channels, single-network apps, live sports, and long-tail content that opt-in measurement does not reach.

What is the difference between small screen and large screen? Small screen refers to mobile devices (iOS and Android), and large screen refers to Connected TV (Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Samsung TV, and Apple TV). The Index measures both so that viewership can be compared across the full range of modern streaming.

DISCLAIMER

The content of the OpenEPG™ Index (collectively, the "Rankings" or “Index”) reflect Pixalate's opinions with respect to factors that Pixalate believes may be useful to advertisers, publishers, agencies, and other participants in the programmatic CTV and mobile OTT ecosystems. Any data shared is grounded in Pixalate's proprietary technology and analytics, which Pixalate continuously evaluates and updates. Pixalate's determinations incorporate a combination of signals and automated processes, and while Pixalate endeavors to apply rigorous standards in compiling Platform data, no assurances or guarantees can be, or are, made as to the accuracy or completeness of any classification, resolution, or rating.

Show-level and channel-level identifications reflect Pixalate's resolution of open-exchange bid stream signals against publicly available electronic program guide (EPG) data. Show and channel attributions represent Pixalate's best determination at the time of impression and are subject to the accuracy, completeness, and timeliness of underlying EPG sources and bid stream signals. Pixalate does not assert that any specific show, channel, network, or publisher is associated with any particular advertising activity beyond what is reflected in open-exchange signals observable at the time of measurement.

Invalid traffic (IVT) metrics referenced herein are produced in accordance with Pixalate's MRC-accredited detection methodology for Sophisticated Invalid Traffic (SIVT). Per the MRC, "'Fraud' is not intended to represent fraud as defined in various laws, statutes and ordinances or as conventionally used in U.S. Court or other legal proceedings, but rather a custom definition strictly for advertising measurement purposes." Per the MRC, "'Invalid Traffic' is defined generally as traffic that does not meet certain ad serving quality or completeness criteria, or otherwise does not represent legitimate ad traffic that should be included in measurement counts. Among the reasons why ad traffic may be deemed invalid is it is a result of non-human traffic (spiders, bots, etc.), or activity designed to produce fraudulent traffic." IVT classifications at the show or channel level reflect Pixalate's measurement opinions and do not constitute a finding that any publisher, app developer, show, network, or channel has engaged in fraudulent activity or violated any law, regulation, or platform policy.

Show titles, channel names, network names, and platform references are used for identification and measurement purposes only. Their inclusion in the Platform does not imply any affiliation, partnership, endorsement, or data-sharing relationship between Pixalate and any named show, network, channel, publisher, or platform. Any references to outside sources or third-party indices should not be construed as endorsements or affiliations. Pixalate publishes this data to advance transparency in the programmatic ecosystem and to inform the buying and selling decisions of market participants, not to impugn the standing or reputation of any entity, show, app, or platform.

The Platform constitutes Pixalate "Materials" under Pixalate's Terms of Use and is licensed subject to, and conditioned expressly upon, compliance with the applicable terms and conditions thereof.