> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.podigee.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.podigee.com/documentation/grow-and-monetize/monetization/distinguish-audience-and-ad-delivery-metrics.md). # Distinguish audience and ad delivery metrics Compare audience activity with commercial ad delivery without mixing unlike measurements. Podcast audience analytics and ad delivery evidence describe different events. Audience analytics describe how people request or consume podcast content. Ad delivery evidence describes whether an eligible ad was selected, delivered, and qualified for commercial use. Keep the two views connected, but do not add them together. ## The two measurement paths | Measurement path | Main question | Typical values | | --------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | Audience analytics | Did the content request meet the audience measurement rule? | Downloads, streams, video starts, listeners, and audience trend | | Ad decision and delivery evidence | Did the request receive an eligible ad, and did the result qualify? | Requests, filled decisions, no-fill decisions, qualified ad units, and completion evidence | | Commercial evidence | What value can the qualified result create? | CPM or CPV result, qualified revenue, delivery cost, fees, and currency | One content request can contain several ad breaks. One audience download can therefore produce zero, one, or several ad decisions. A filled decision can also fail a later qualification rule. These are normal reasons for totals to differ. ## Use the correct page for each question Use the **Podcast** context for audience activity: 1. Open the show or episode in the normal Podcast area. 2. Open **Analytics**. 3. Select the same period and show or episode scope as the question. 4. Record the audience values and the analytics data time. Use **Monetization > Evidence & Money** for ad delivery and commercial results: 1. Check the reporting period and time zone. 2. Read **Qualified ads delivered**, **Fill rate**, **Qualified revenue**, and **No-fill decisions**. 3. Use the daily chart and media breakdown to see whether audio and video move together. 4. Open a Campaign or create a scoped report when you need a Flight, Creative, market, or show breakdown. ![The current One Podigee Evidence and Money view shows qualified delivery, fill rate, qualified revenue, no-fill decisions, a daily chart, and separate media and money values.](https://2032417310-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FbqUKO6lljHGzkEAzliPI%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-ab157f76d1c3f5f7be3a2d369de4c2995b42dd3b%2Fdoc-monetization-072-reports-overview.png?alt=media) *Use Evidence & Money for qualified ad delivery. Use the Podcast context for audience analytics.* The Evidence & Money view uses qualified delivery evidence. It does not claim that every audience request received an ad, and it does not replace the analytics view. ## Align the comparison before you read it Use the same: * show or episode scope; * start and end time; * time zone; * media type; * delivery destination; * privacy and measurement rule; and * currency when you compare money. Analytics and delivery systems can finish at different times. Write down the **data as of** time for each view. If one view is still processing, label the comparison as incomplete. Do not change a Campaign to correct a difference that may only be a data delay. ## Understand the common relationships The following relationships help you explain normal differences: * **Audience downloads are not ad impressions.** A download measures content activity. It does not prove that an ad was selected or qualified. * **Filled decisions are not qualified delivery.** A decision can select an ad, but the later evidence may fail the measurement, media, privacy, or validity rule. * **Qualified delivery is not revenue.** A qualified ad unit can have a price, fee, currency, and settlement status that are recorded separately. * **Video starts are not video completions.** Use the metric definition selected by the Flight or report. Do not replace a start goal with a completion value. * **Audio and video units stay separate.** Do not add audio impressions to video starts unless a governed report explicitly defines a common unit. * **A no-fill decision can be correct.** No demand may match the schedule, market, rights, frequency, budget, policy, or Creative at the request time. ## Avoid duplicate counting Use the saved decision, delivery, and event references when you investigate one request. Do not count each of these as a separate impression: * the original request; * a cache hit for the same immutable media; * a repeated playlist or range request; * a decision replay used for investigation; or * a provider acknowledgement. The delivery evidence pipeline deduplicates qualified results according to the active measurement definition. A replay is evidence inspection. It does not create another ad delivery or another billable event. For RSS audio, the public episode request remains the audience entry point. Dynamic ad selection and the analytics observation use their own records. For HLS, a playlist request, media segment request, and player observation are different technical events. Count only the qualified result defined by the active measurement rule. ## Compare one episode or show Use this sequence when a buyer or publisher asks why audience and ad numbers differ: 1. Open the episode in **Podcast > Analytics** and record downloads, streams, video starts, or listeners for the agreed period. 2. Open **Monetization > Evidence & Money** and record qualified delivery, fill, no-fill, and revenue for the same scope. 3. Open the affected Campaign and check its Flights, goals, media, schedule, and latest evidence. 4. If needed, open **Explain delivery** and inspect a small sample of decisions from the same period. 5. Compare the units in a table. Keep audience, ad, and money columns separate. 6. Mark the comparison complete only when the data-as-of times and metric definitions are current. Do not use a single aggregate ratio to claim that every listener saw an ad. Use fill rate for the decision population and audience analytics for the content population. ## Example A show has 10,000 qualified audience downloads during a month. The same period has 12,000 ad decisions because some downloads contain more than one eligible break. Of those decisions, 9,000 are filled, 8,700 later qualify, and 8,700 create EUR-valued delivery evidence. The correct explanation is: * audience activity: 10,000 qualified downloads; * decision population: 12,000 ad decisions; * filled decisions: 9,000; * qualified ad delivery: 8,700 units; and * commercial value: the EUR amount attached to those 8,700 qualified units. Do not report 8,700 as the number of listeners. Do not divide qualified revenue by downloads unless the report definition specifically asks for revenue per audience download. ## If numbers do not agree | Situation | What to check | | --------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Audience downloads are higher than filled ads | Check no-fill reasons, break coverage, schedule, rights, targeting, and Creative readiness. | | Filled decisions are higher than qualified delivery | Check the measurement window, player evidence, invalid-traffic rules, and late qualification. | | Revenue is lower than qualified delivery suggests | Check CPM or CPV, currency, fees, adjustments, and settlement status. | | Audio and video totals look combined | Open the media breakdown and keep the units separate. Check the Flight metric definitions. | | The same request appears more than once | Use the decision and event references. Exclude cache, range, replay, and provider acknowledgement records. | | Analytics and delivery have different dates | Compare their data-as-of times and wait for the later pipeline to finish before changing a Campaign. | If the difference remains after these checks, open a governed report or a reconciliation case. Keep the original records. Do not create a replacement ad decision or edit a finance amount to force a match. ## Expected result You can explain the difference between audience activity, ad decisions, qualified delivery, and money. Reports keep audio and video units, time zones, currencies, and evidence states separate. Operators can trace one result from a public RSS or HLS request to its qualified commercial value without counting technical retries or audience activity twice. --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. 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