Media Rating Council

The organisation operates as a 501(c)(6) not-for-profit, functioning as an independent industry self-regulatory body for media measurement. It creates value by defining minimum standards and guidelines for valid and reliable media and audience measurement, and by running an accreditation programme that evaluates measurement services against these standards via independent audits. Its role is to provide assurance and transparency to the media and advertising ecosystem, improving trust in measurement data used for trading and evaluating media.

Revenue is generated primarily through annual membership dues paid by industry participants (such as media companies, advertisers, agencies and measurement vendors), which fund ongoing standards development, governance and operations. For specific accreditation engagements, the measurement services under review pay for the internal and external audit costs required to support the accreditation process. There is no indication of commercial software licensing, advertising or transaction-based revenue streams.

Media Rating Council, Inc. is a US-based, not-for-profit, self-regulatory industry body that audits and accredits media measurement products and data sources across digital, out-of-home, print, radio, television and cross-media. It publishes minimum standards and guidelines for audience and media measurement and uses independent audits to determine whether measurement services comply with these standards.

The organisation is structured as a 501(c)(6) membership body funded by member dues. Additional costs associated with accreditation audits are borne by the measurement services undergoing review. Its primary stakeholders and customers are measurement vendors, ratings services and data providers seeking accreditation, and the advertisers, agencies and media owners that rely on accredited measurement for buying, selling and evaluating media.