Shining a light on TV advertising
What is Lantern?
Lantern is a cutting-edge measurement and reporting solution being developed for the UK TV advertising market.
Lantern will allow agencies and advertisers to witness the online responses and actions created by TV advertising.
Shining a light on TV advertising data
Who’s behind Lantern?
Lantern is a cross-TV collaborative project founded by ITV, Sky, and Channel 4, alongside Thinkbox, the marketing body for UK commercial TV.
FAQs
Why is Lantern needed?
- TV advertising’s effectiveness has been proven many times and in many ways over the years, both as a standalone medium and when used with other media.
- Data from Profit Ability 2 (2024), for example, shows that across a full 2-year payback period TV consistently delivers the biggest profit volume across all product categories.
- Looking specifically at immediate profit return (sales occurring in the same week as the ad exposure), Profit Ability 2 found that TV is the second biggest driver after Generic PPC.
- So we know TV works quickly, it’s just not easy for advertisers to measure. The primary evidence – a viewer sees an ad, then acts on it – has remained elusive at scale and across many categories.
- Lantern will add a significant new measurement angle to the industry’s general understanding of TV advertising’s impact. It will provide direct, systematic evidence of TV advertising’s short and medium-term online effects.
How will Lantern work?
- Lantern brings together TV ad exposures seen by panel households with data about their subsequent and related online activities, e.g. searching for the advertised brand, visiting the website, going to the brand’s app, buying the product online, etc.
- The initial phase in 2025 saw the building and operation of a Proof of Concept (PoC) which combined samples of TV ad exposure data from the 4-million home Sky panel and c. 2-million YouView homes, together with outcome data provided by consumer online behavioural panel company, Measure Protocol.
- This PoC, together with responses to a Request for Information (RFI) which were reviewed in summer 2025, have provided the insights needed to expand Lantern into a Beta Phase in 2026.
What’s the benefit to advertisers and agencies of Lantern?
- Lantern will yield invaluable new insights into how TV advertising works, for the duration of a campaign and for some time afterwards. Media planners, media buyers and marketers will be able to access never previously quantified data about what consumers do online as a direct result of seeing TV ads.
- There is no limit to what Lantern data could be used for, but for media agencies the base level is reporting on past campaigns and planning future campaigns.
- For marketers – both existing and new-to-TV advertisers – Lantern will provide the accountability and quantifiable results that they demand.
- Lantern will also be invaluable to the research, data, and business insights communities because, beyond individual campaign analysis, it will allow them to derive more general learnings and useful truths about marketing and its effects.
- In time, data from Lantern will also contribute to the study and understanding of advertising effectiveness, much in the way that the IPA Effectiveness Awards have done for so long.
When will Lantern be available to agencies/advertisers?
- Lantern is progressing through various stages of development. 2026 is a year of Beta testing and there are opportunities for advertisers and agencies to get involved (See how to get involved)
Will this cover both Linear TV and BVOD?
- Lantern is planned to cover both linear and BVoD and both will be part of the Beta phase of development in 2026
Will Lantern data cover all TV companies?
- Lantern will provide multi-outcome data from channels represented by Sky, ITV and Channel 4. They are the shareholders of Thinkbox and the collaboration’s founding participants.
- Data will be available in total summary form (i.e. Total TV) rather than broken down into component sales houses, channels or platforms. It is envisaged that advertisers will be able to see their own data and, once Lantern is fully established, be able to compare it with category norms.
- Other broadcasters should be able to come on board in due course, once Lantern is established.
Where can I find out more?
- If you’ve already scoured this website, you’re pretty well up to speed on Lantern.
- But if we’ve left you wanting more, please contact us. The quickest route is to email nicola.harrison@lanternuk.tv and she will either reply to you directly, or she will acknowledge your enquiry and pass it on to the most suitable person within Thinkbox, ITV, Sky or Channel 4.
How to get involved
Lantern is now in a phased Beta throughout 2026 to help us build a TV Outcomes measurement product for the future. We are looking to work with partner advertisers that are able to meet a set of criteria for participation.
Take a look at the information below and if you are interested, please contact Nicola.Harrison@lanternuk.tv
Lantern Beta FAQs
What results can participating advertisers expect to see from the Beta?
The impact of TV on a rich set of brand outcomes — which can include search, app usage, purchase behaviour and social. Results cover near-term outcomes and learnings from past campaigns, plus web lift measurement.
Results will come from the panel and tag methodologies.
Will advertisers need to sign a data agreement?
Yes. As part of onboarding, a signed letter of engagement and data processing agreements may be required
I already have an Adalyser tag — do I need a different one?
For phase 1 – Advertisers joining the trial in Phase 1 will already have a tag in place. Phase 2 will differ from this.
How does the Adalyser tag work?
The tag is a piece of code the advertiser places on their own website. It records site visitors, which Adalyser then matches via IP to household TV exposure.
Will measurement results be broken down by broadcaster?
No. Results are shown at total campaign level and generic cross-broadcaster dimensions like daypart, genre — Lantern’s purpose is to give advertisers a single, unified view of TV effectiveness.
How will I receive outcomes measurement results during the Beta?
Through a mix of presentation slides and data sheets, shared with the advertiser team in progress meetings. Part of the learnings form the Beta phase will be to look at different ways that the data can be presented.
What is the cost to advertisers participating in the Beta?
There is no financial cost for participating in Lantern Beta — it’s advertiser time and engagement that we’re seeking.
How will I receive outcomes measurement results during the Beta?
Through a mix of presentation slides and data sheets, shared with the advertiser team in progress meetings. Part of the learnings form the Beta phase will be to look at different ways that the data can be presented.
How is Lantern different from Project Origin and CFlight?
Project Origin and CFlight measure reach and frequency of viewing audiences. Lantern is designed for outcomes measurement.
Be part of the TV advertising data revolution
How to get in touch
For all enquiries please contact Nicola Harrison in the first instance.