The Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM), one of the most influential organizations in the advertising and media ecosystem, has announced two new initiatives designed to accelerate the pace of innovation in how audiences are tracked, understood, and monetized across television, streaming, and digital platforms. Over the course of its September 18–20, 2025 event, the group unveiled its Startup Program and Innovation Showcase, both of which are intended to connect emerging technology companies with established industry leaders at a time when audience measurement is undergoing historic transformation.
The Startup Program will select five early-stage companies each year, focusing specifically on businesses that are fewer than three years old and working in the fields of video, television, media measurement, or ad technology. Companies chosen for the program will be given free CIMM membership, which offers access to proprietary research, industry data, and best practices. They will also be connected directly with senior executives across CIMM’s membership base, giving them opportunities for mentorship, feedback, and potential partnerships. For startups attempting to break into the highly competitive media and advertising technology sector, the program represents both an accelerator and a credibility boost, offering visibility to decision-makers who might otherwise be difficult to reach.
Complementing this effort is the Innovation Showcase, a twice-yearly, members-only virtual event. While the Startup Program provides mentorship and support, the Showcase offers a platform for exposure. Not only will the startups selected through the program be featured, but other innovators—whether they are CIMM members or venture-backed firms—will also have the chance to demonstrate their technologies. The event will act as a curated stage where new ideas can be tested against industry interest and where executives from major media companies, advertisers, and measurement firms can evaluate technologies with real potential to disrupt existing models.
Applications for the inaugural Startup Program opened immediately following the announcement and will remain open until November 30, 2025. The first class of winners will be revealed in January 2026, aligning them with the debut of the Innovation Showcase scheduled for the early months of next year. This timeline ensures that startups not only receive industry mentorship but also gain a public spotlight within CIMM’s ecosystem relatively quickly, giving them a strong platform from which to scale.
The timing of these programs reflects the urgency facing the media and advertising sectors. Audience measurement has always been central to the business of advertising, but in the past decade, the rise of streaming, on-demand viewing, and hybrid platforms has fractured the traditional models of tracking viewership. Advertisers and networks once relied on relatively simple systems, with Nielsen ratings serving as the industry standard. Today, however, audiences consume content across multiple devices, platforms, and formats, from traditional linear television to mobile apps to short-form video streams. This fragmentation makes it increasingly difficult to build a unified picture of who is watching, how long they are engaged, and how advertising dollars should be allocated.
The demand for innovation in this space is immense. Advertisers want assurance that their spending is effective, networks want recognition for their reach across multiple platforms, and consumers want their privacy protected. Measurement companies and adtech firms are therefore under intense pressure to develop tools that are both accurate and transparent. In this context, CIMM’s new initiatives are designed to bring together the nimbleness of startups with the scale and influence of established companies. For young companies, the chance to test ideas and receive guidance from veterans may help them avoid costly missteps. For incumbents, early access to groundbreaking ideas could provide a competitive edge in a landscape where consumer behaviors shift almost daily.
The initiatives also mark an evolution in the role of trade associations like CIMM. Traditionally, organizations of this kind have been seen primarily as standard-setters, advocates, or forums for consensus-building among major players. Increasingly, however, they are taking on the role of active facilitators of innovation, functioning as incubators and accelerators in their own right. By formally supporting startups and providing them with exposure to major industry stakeholders, CIMM is acknowledging that future breakthroughs may come from outside the established firms that have historically dominated media measurement.
The broader industry context makes this moment particularly significant. With the decline of legacy measurement systems and the rise of new models attempting to capture cross-platform behavior, there is no longer a single universal “currency” that advertisers and networks can rely upon. Multiple companies are competing to establish themselves as trusted sources of truth for fragmented audiences. This competition has fueled not only innovation but also frustration, as stakeholders debate methodology, transparency, and the validity of different approaches. Into this environment, CIMM’s Startup Program and Innovation Showcase inject a new dimension, highlighting the possibility that entirely new players—currently in their earliest stages—could develop solutions robust enough to influence the next standard.
Industry observers note that the benefits of these initiatives extend beyond technical solutions. For startups, mentorship from seasoned executives can provide guidance on complex issues such as compliance with privacy regulations, integration with legacy systems, and scalability across markets. These hurdles often prove just as challenging as developing the core technology itself. Meanwhile, for established companies, having a line of sight into emerging technologies offers the chance to prepare for disruptions before they happen. In many cases, this can mean forming partnerships or acquisitions that allow them to integrate new capabilities rather than being blindsided by them.
The announcement has already drawn interest from across the media landscape. Early-stage companies specializing in artificial intelligence, cross-platform analytics, and privacy-first tracking solutions are expected to apply, reflecting the key themes shaping the future of measurement. Likewise, established members of CIMM—including major broadcasters, streaming platforms, and advertising agencies—have expressed enthusiasm about engaging with innovators who can bring fresh thinking to an industry grappling with seismic shifts.
Ultimately, the Startup Program and Innovation Showcase signal that the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement is not content simply to observe changes in the industry—it intends to play a central role in shaping them. By directly supporting the next wave of innovators and creating opportunities for dialogue between startups and established companies, CIMM is positioning itself at the intersection of tradition and transformation. For an industry navigating the turbulence of shifting viewing habits and technological disruption, that role could prove decisive in determining how advertising and media measurement evolve in the years ahead.