LightBoxTV, the platform redefining TV campaign workflows, has partnered with Vevo, the world’s leading music video network, to break new ground in harmonising their content distributed via YouTube with traditional TV planning and reporting. 

This landmark development between LightBoxTV and Vevo leverages API integrations with Google Ad Manager (GAM), opening the door to seamless curation and measurement of specific premium publishers using YouTube to distribute broadcast-quality content. 

As YouTube increasingly becomes a dominant force on the living room screen, the advertising industry has struggled to distinguish between premium, TV-like content and user-generated video of varying quality. This fragmentation has led to uncertainty for advertisers striving to maintain the credibility and trust built through decades of broadcast TV. 

LightBoxTV’s integration with GAM represents a progressive and practical step forward providing a unified planning and reporting framework that puts viewer behaviour and content standards at its core. For the first time, agencies and brands can buy and report across Total TV, including YouTube, with one plan and one report regardless of how content reaches the viewer’s screen. 

“We are committed to putting TV standards and transparency at the heart of planning,” said Dean Cussell, COO at LightBoxTV. “With this integration, we're finally enabling the industry to treat YouTube as part of the TV universe, but only when it meets the right standards. It’s a step towards defragmentation, and a recognition that viewer behaviour must shape how we plan, buy, and measure.” 

Vevo’s role as launch partner is pivotal. As a recognised member of Thinkbox and a consistent collaborator with BARB, Vevo has a catalogue of premium music video programming that carries the broadcast credibility advertisers demand. This partnership proves that YouTube can be used as a strategic, brand-safe channel when curated properly. It allows planners to supplement quality TV reach (TV1+) with validated, high-quality streaming content that matches the expectations of traditional TV buys. 

This marks the first-ever use of the GAM API to classify and align YouTube inventory with a broader TV plan. It empowers agencies to extend brand campaigns to lighter TV viewers without compromising on quality or control by choosing content with TV-like brand-building potential, and not treating YouTube as a monolithic, one-size-fits-all video platform. 

“YouTube is undeniably part of Connected TV and, by extension, TV itself. It’s consistently the No.1 TV app across many territories, but that doesn’t mean all content found on the app meets the standards expected of a TV campaign,” said Rich Brant, senior director advanced TV, strategy and partnerships, Vevo. “As an industry, we need to move beyond viewing YouTube as one line on the plan. Consumers watch it for a variety of reasons, so when we are leveraging the platform as part of a TV campaign, the same classic TV principles apply, accounting for quality, attention, context, safety, and the mindset of the viewer. It’s about selecting programming that has credibility and brand-building power, not just filling reach metrics indiscriminately. Vevo has proven the effect of premium content on surrounding ads on YouTube through studies conducted with the likes of Flood & Partners and Amplified Intelligence. The quality of content transcends platform and is essential for brand building longevity, and this partnership with LightBoxTV is a vital step in making that possible.” 

Next Steps 

This partnership marks just the beginning. LightBoxTV and Vevo are now expanding the model to include additional broadcasters and premium content distributors who use YouTube as a core part of their viewer strategy. The goal is to create a scalable, standards-led framework for curating and planning high-quality YouTube inventory as part of broader Total TV buys. 

Together, LightBoxTV and Vevo are actively collaborating with agencies to activate this capability across live campaigns bringing consistency, quality assurance, and strategic control to YouTube investment. 

Endorsements and live use cases from agency groups and advertisers are expected to be announced shortly, further validating this pioneering step towards restoring clarity, trust, and cohesion in the evolving TV landscape.

LightBoxTV

LightBoxTV is a leading provider of CTV advertising solutions, dedicated to delivering impactful TV advertising campaigns through the integration of cutting-edge technology and expert strategy. The core offering revolves around advanced TV planning a...

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