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DCR Integration Utilizing Cloud API

This guide shows you how to integrate the Nielsen Cloud API to enable Digital Content Ratings (DCR), and fuel other measurement products on your over-the-top (OTT) Apps.

Prerequisites

To get started, you will need a Nielsen App ID. The App ID is a unique ID assigned to your app. This will be provided to you by your assigned Technical Account Manager upon starting the integration.

Item	Description	Source
App ID (appid)	Unique ID assigned to the player/site and configured by product.	Provided by Nielsen

Integration

We will cover the steps for constructing the Cloud API Calls.

URL Structure

The Cloud API Calls are HTTP GET Requests with the URL structure:

[endpoint]/[appid]/[sessionID]/a?b=[payload]

The URL includes the following components:

• [endpoint]: location of data collection environment
• [appid]: provided App ID.
  • Note: P prefix must be removed before adding it to the URL
  • Example App ID with P prefix: "PDF20695-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-3E334133D917"
  • https://sc-eucert.nmrodam.com/nmapi/v2/DF20695-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-3E334133D917/[sessionID]/a?b=[payload]
• [sessionID]: unique value for each user session
• [payload]: metadata and events

Endpoint

There are endpoints for testing and production:

• Testing: https://sc-eucert.nmrodam.com/nmapi/v2/
• Production: https://capi-dmk.nmrodam.com/nmapi/v2/

During testing, all calls should be pointed to the testing endpoint. We will review the update to the production endpoint during the Go Live section of this guide.

URL Example

As you move through the integration steps, you can reference the below URL structure with the expanded payload:

https://sc-eucert.nmrodam.com/nmapi/v2/[appid]/[sessionID]/a?b=
{
  "devInfo": [deviceInfo],
  "metadata": {
    "content": [content_metadata],
    "ad": [ad metadata]
  },
  "event": [event],
  "position": [playhead_position],
  "type": [asset type],
  "utc": [Unix time in ms],
  "sessid": [unique view session ID for each video play]
}

Create Session ID and send EMM Ping

Create Session ID

A unique Session ID [sessionID] must be created upon app launch and provided in the URL. This will allow the measurement to occur for the entire duration that a user is within the app.

A Session ID needs to be completely unique so it is recommended to use our generation method example provided below to create unique alpha-numerical 29 characters + 10 characters UTC timestamp, to guarantee there are no repeats, also see Reference Implementation for VoD and Live Streams for your reference and use.

Session ID example: LsTYTmZQPwdchsNZkdtJp9lErjgAp1632729088

'''// Create random GUID'''
function buildGUID() {
    var UAIDbase62Characters = "0123456789ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz";
    var UAIDpayloadLength = 29;

    function UAIDgetRandom62() {
        var r1;
        do {
            r1 = Math.floor(Math.random() * (16 * 62));
        } while (r1 > 61); 
        return r1;
    }

    var uid = '';
    for (var a = 0; a < UAIDpayloadLength; a++) {
        uid += UAIDbase62Characters.charAt(UAIDgetRandom62());
    }
    uid += Math.floor(new Date().getTime() / 1000);
    return uid;
}

Upon exiting the app, the session will need to be terminated using the delete event.
Sessions will automatically expire after 30 minutes of cloud inactivity.

Send EMM Ping

An EMM Ping must be sent using the created unique Session ID [sessionID] upon start of the first stream playback.

https://[sessionID].uaid.nmrodam.com/

Also see Reference Implementation for VoD and Live Streams for your reference.

Create First Party ID

• An First Party ID [fpid] must be created and stored on the device. It is re-used until expiration date or if the user has deleted it on from the device storage.

The default expiration date should be set to the equivalent of 180 days.

• Additionally the Creation Time [fpcrtm] of the First Party ID should be stored as well. The same value should be used as long as the First Party ID is available on the device.

Create View Session ID for each Video Start

An View Session ID [sessid] must be created upon start of each stream playback, sessid is unique per video play.

Define URL Structure

Define the URL structure using your provided [appid] and a unique [sessionID].

https://sc-eucert.nmrodam.com/nmapi/v2/[appid]/[sessionID]/a?b=[payload]

Configure Payload

All Cloud API requests must contain the following payload data:

• devInfo: device and app info
• metadata: asset metadata
• event metadata: type of event

The payload can be passed through key-values using the Nielsen reserved keys. The specific keys and descriptions are highlighted in the tables included in this section.

Payload Example

The example below should be referenced when following the steps for configuring the request payload.

// 3.1 Configure Payload: devInfo 
payload = {
    "devInfo": {
        "devId": "SHA-256 value of the Device ID", 
        "apn": "AppName",
        "apv": "1.0",
        "fpid": "First Party ID",
        "fpcrtm": "Creation Time (UTC) of the First Party ID (Unix Timestamp in milliseconds)"
    },
    
    // 3.2 Configure Payload: metadata
    "metadata": {
        "content": { // object for measuring video content
            "type": "content", // "content" for video
            "assetid": "VIDEO-ID123", // unique ID for video
            "isfullepisode": "y", // full episode flag
            "program": "Program Name", // program name
            "title": "Episode Title S3 - EP1", // episode name
            "length": "1800", // content duration in seconds
            "airdate": "20161013 20:00:00", // airdate
            "adloadtype": "2", //ad load flag
            "subbrand": "c05", // channel ID or subrand provided by Nielsen
            "stationId": "TESTXXYYSSWWLL",
            "islivestn": "y",
            "pbstarttm": "1631098029"
        },
        "ad": {
            "type": "preroll", // type of ad
            "assetid": "AD-ID123" // unique ID for ad
        }
    },
    
    // 3.3 Configure Payload: events
    "event": "playhead", //event name
    "position": "300", // position in seconds
    "type": "content", //"content" or "ad"
    "utc": "1456448742000", //unix timestamp in milliseconds 
    "sessid": "xxxjavd6wzirm93xb95uxjy1ac5wu1627638609", // unique for each video play
}

Configure Payload: devInfo

An object "devInfo" will need to be created to capture App and Device information.

Keys	Description	Values	Required
devId	unique Device ID of a user device (e.g. SHA-256 hashed value of i.e. Advertising ID, Roku Device ID). Please verify your implemented SHA-256 by passing "00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000" which should return "12b9377cbe7e5c94e8a70d9d23929523d14afa954793130f8a3959c7b849aca8"	custom	✓
apn	app name	custom	✓
apv	app build version	custom	✓
fpid	First Party ID	custom	✓
fpcrtm	Creation Time (UTC) of the First Party ID (Unix Timestamp in milliseconds)	custom	✓

Example devInfo Object

// create devInfo object
"devInfo": {
  "devId": "SHA-256 value of the Device ID",
  "apn": "AppName",
  "apv": "1.0",
  "fpid": "First Party ID",
  "fpcrtm": "Creation Time (UTC) of the First Party ID (Unix Timestamp in milliseconds)"
},

3.2 Configure Payload: metadata

Asset metadata can be passed through "metadata". There are two asset types: "content" for video and "ad" for ads. The metadata received for each asset is used for classification and reporting.

You will need to set up "metadata" objects for "content" and "ad" with the required Nielsen keys as shown in the sample code below.

Content Metadata

Content metadata should remain constant throughout the entirety of an episode/clip including when ads play.

program and title metadata values should be passed to SDK as UTF-8 strings.

Keys	Description	Values	Required
type	type of asset	"content" for main content	✓
assetid	unique ID assigned to asset	custom (no Special Characters)	✓
program	name of program	custom	✓
title	episode name	custom	✓
length	length of content in seconds	Length of content in seconds (86400 seconds for live stream (24/7). For Event-Live streams planned length. For VoD video length)	✓
airdate	the original date (local time with hh:mm:ss as 24h time stamp) content became available. This date does not change if the content is rebroadcasted on linear TV.	YYYYMMDD HH:MI:SS (if not known set it to eg. "19700101 00:00:00")	✓
isfullepisode	full episode flag	"y" full episode (full content for a program) "n" non full episode (only one part of the entire content for a program , i.e. preview, sub-episodes)	✓
adloadtype	type of Ad load	"1" Linear - matches TV ad load "2" Dynamic - Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI)	✓
stationId	Unique Gracenote Station ID generated by Nielsen that uniquely identifies a live channel	provided by Nielsen	✓
islivestn	Indicates if a stream is playing on a live channel	"y" playing on a live channel "n" otherwise i.e. VoD	✓
pbstarttm	Playback Start Time (UTC): Unix timestamp in seconds matching the broadcast time for Content and Ad when a user starts and joins a live stream (seconds since Jan-1-1970 UTC)	i.e. "1631098029" for live stream and ""(empty string) for a VoD.	✓
subbrand	vcid/sub-brand/Channel ID – value is automatically populated through provided AppID. In order to override the sub-brand configured to the App ID, value can be passed here (e.g. multiple sub-brands/Channels in the App)	provided by Nielsen	✓

Example Content Object

// create content object
"content": {
  "type": "content",
  "assetid": "unique_content_id",
  "program": "program name",
  "title": "episode title",
  "length": "length in seconds",
  "airdate": "20200713 10:22:00",
  "isfullepisode": "y",
  "adloadtype": "2",
  "subbrand": "c05",
  "stationId": "TESTXXYYSSWWLL",
  "islivestn": "y",
  "pbstarttm": "1631098029"
}

Ad Metadata (optional for DR)

The Ad Metadata (if applicable) should be passed for each individual ad.

Note: All metadata values should be passed as UTF-8 strings.

Keys	Description	Values	Required
type	type of Ad	"preroll", "midroll", "postroll" "ad" - If specific type can not be identified.	✓
assetid	unique ID assigned to Ad	custom (no Special Characters)	✓

Example Ad Object

// create ad object
"ad": {
  "type": "preroll",
  "assetid": "unique_preroll_ad_id"
}

Configure Payload: Events

The last part of the payload is for enabling events so content is measured correctly when viewed. The events and required parameters are included below.

Event Types

The available events are:

Event	Description
"playhead"	Handling Playhead Calling "playhead" is critical for accurate duration crediting. You can reference the below guidance to determine the correct playhead position to pass depending on the playback scenario. General Playhead position in seconds, must be passed as a whole number every 10 seconds. The final playhead position should be sent before before sending "complete" event when content playback is complete. Live Stream For Live streams, use Unix Time (in seconds) matching the broadcast time as the playhead position. Note that ad playheads must also use Unix Time for each single Ad in an Ad Pod. VoD Stream For VoD stream use the player position for Content and Ad at playback start of a content or single Ad in an Ad Pod, playheads will then be 0, 10, 20, .... End of an Asset Final postion must be sent at the end of Content or Ad playback Ads The final playhead position must be sent when switching from content to ad, or ad to content. For Ad Pods, playhead must be called for each individual ad. When content has resumed following a mid-roll ad break, the next playhead position must continue where the previous content segment left off. User Actions SCRUBBING: Upon user scrubbing, the current position must be sent before a user scrubs, and the new position should be sent where the user lands, and begin sending in the 10 second updates thereafter. PAUSE: When content is paused, send current playhead position and stop passing playhead position until content is resumed. EXIT Stream: If a user exits a stream early, the last current position must be sent in a playhead update to receive accurate duration.
"complete"	The complete event must be sent when full playback of the content has completed . Before calling the complete event, a final playhead update with the final position is required to be sent to receive full duration credit. For Live streams, a complete event must be sent at program boundaries.
"delete"	The delete event is sent when the viewing session is terminated (typically on App close). A new session ID must be generated after sending a delete event. Delete should not be sent on app interruptions or foreground/background events. All creditable duration will be summarized for all asset types when delete occurs (content and ads).

Event Parameters

The following parameters need to be passed when calling events:

Parameter	Description	Value	Required
"event"	event type	"playhead", "complete", or "delete"	✓
"position"	playhead position in seconds or Unix time in seconds	"300"	✓
"type"	asset type	"content", "ad"	✓
"utc"	Unix timestamp in milliseconds. Must be passed every 10 seconds.	"1472760000000"	✓
"sessid"	Unique View Session ID must be created upon start of each stream playback, sessid is unique per video play.	"xxxjavd6wzirm93xb95uxjy1ac5wu1627638609"	✓

Example Event

You can call events by passing values in the required parameters:

"devInfo": [deviceInfo],
  "metadata": {
    "content": [content metadata],
    "ad": [ad metadata]
  },
  // Event Parameters
  "event": [event], // event name
  "position": [playheadPosition], //position in seconds
  "type": [asset type], // values are "content" or "ad"
  "utc": "1472760000000", //unix timestamp in milliseconds
  "sessid": "xxxjavd6wzirm93xb95uxjy1ac5wu1627638609", // unique for each video play
}

Note: The full payload including "devInfo" and "metadata" must be populated in each event request.

Sample Event Lifecycle for VoD Stream

The sample event lifecycle can be used as a reference for identifying the order for calling events and values to pass.

// Start of Session: session ID created when App is opened

// Preroll
Ad Playhead {"event": "playhead", "position": "0", "type": "ad", "utc": "1472760000000"} 
 
// Content
Content Playhead {"event": "playhead", "position": "0", "type": "content", "utc": "1472760000000"} 

// Midroll
Midroll Playhead {"event": "playhead", "position": "0", "type": "ad", "utc": "1472760000000"} 

// Content resumes at 15 minutes
Content Playhead {"event": "playhead", "position": "900", "type": "content", "utc": "1472760000000"} 

// Content completes at 30 minutes
Complete {"event": "complete", "position": "1800", "type": "content", "utc": "1472760000000"} 
 
// Postroll
Ad Playhead {"event": "playhead", "position": "0", "type": "ad", "utc": "1472760000000"} 

//End of Session: The delete event should be called when the App is exited. The values for position and type not required to be passed.
Delete { "event": "delete", "position": "", "type": "", "utc": "1472760000000"}

Sample Event Lifecycle for VoD Stream - Detailed Storyline This detailed event sequence provides additional insight for the correct events to call when handling certain playback scenarios.

// SESSION STARTS
// Start of Session: session ID created when App is opened

// PREROLL
// Preroll Start - Start each Ad with a position of "0", resetting to '0' for each Ad, and Ad break.
Ad Playhead {"event": "playhead", "position": "0", "type": "ad", "utc": "1472760000000"} 

// Preroll Stop - End each Ad with the final position of the Ad.
Ad Playhead {"event": "playhead", "position": "15", "type": "ad", "utc": "1472761500000"}
 
// CONTENT 
// Content Start - Start new content streams with a position of "0" incrementing the position every 10 seconds.
Content Playhead {"event": "playhead", "position": "0", "type": "content", "utc": "1472761500000"} 

// Content Stop Before Ad Break - Send a playhead update including the current content positon before an Ad break.
Content Playhead {"event": "playhead", "position": "299", "type": "content", "utc": "1472787400000"}

// MIDROLL
// Midroll Start - Start each Ad with a position of "0", resetting to '0' for each Ad, and Ad break.
Midroll Playhead {"event": "playhead", "position": "0", "type": "ad", "utc": "1472787500000"} 

// Midroll Stop - End each Ad with the final position of the Ad.
Ad Playhead {"event": "playhead", "position": "60", "type": "ad", "utc": "1472793500000"}

// CONTENT
// Content resumes at 5 minutes - Send playhead update with the current resumed position, and begin incrimenting the positon every 10 seconds.
Content Playhead {"event": "playhead", "position": "300", "type": "content", "utc": "1472799500000"} 

// Content completes at 10:12 - Make sure to send in the playhead event with the final content position before sending the complete event.
Final Content Playhead {"event": "playhead", "position": "612", "type": "content", "utc": "1472830700000"} 

Complete {"event": "complete", "position": "612", "type": "content", "utc": "1472830800000"} 

// POSTROLL
// Postroll Start - Start each Ad with a position of "0", resetting to '0' for each Ad, and Ad break.
Ad Playhead {"event": "playhead", "position": "0", "type": "ad", "utc": "1472830900000"} 

// Postroll Stop - End each Ad with the final position of the Ad.
Ad Playhead {"event": "playhead", "position": "45", "type": "ad", "utc": "1472835300000"}

// SESSION ENDS

//End of Session: The delete event should be called when the App is exited. The values for position and type not required to be passed.
Delete { "event": "delete", "position": "", "type": "", "utc": "1472835400000"}

Interruption Scenarios

As part of configuring events, you will need to handle all possible interruption scenarios such as:

• Wi-Fi OFF / ON
• App going Background / Foreground (Video players only, not for Audio players)
• App Crash or Exit

Note: A session will automatically timeout after 30 minutes of inactivity.

Example Request

Now that we walked through the Cloud API integration steps, your requests should have the following components: Session ID, App ID, and Payload. You can reference the example below when your reviewing your integration.

// 1. Create Session ID
sessionID = LsTYTmZQPwdchsNZkdtJp9lErjgAp1632729088  // Example sessionID created using a UUID Generator

// 2. Define URL Structure with App ID and Session ID
sessionURL = https://sc-eucert.nmrodam.com/nmapi/v2/[appid]/[sessionID]/a?b=

// 3. Configure Payload
// 3.1 Configure Payload: devInfo 
payload = {
 "devInfo": {
   "devId": "SHA-256 value of the Device ID",
   "apn": "AppName",
   "apv": "1.0",
   "fpid": "U4EDwDcpvWIbguYVyjlhzS1v0eaov1631180980",
   "fpcrtm": "1631098029000"
  },
  
  // 3.2 Configure Payload: metadata
  "metadata": {
    "content": { // object for measuring video content
      "type": "content", // "content" for video
      "assetid": "VIDEO-ID123", // unique ID for video
      "isfullepisode": "y", // full episode flag
      "program": "Program Name", // program name
      "title": "Episode Title S3 - EP1", // episode name
      "length": "1800", // content duration in seconds
      "airdate": "20161013 20:00:00", // airdate
      "adloadtype": "2" // ad load flag,
      "subbrand": "c05",
      "stationId": "TESTXXYYSSWWLL",
      "islivestn": "y",
      "pbstarttm": "1631098029",
    },
    "ad": {
      "type": "preroll", // type of ad
      "assetid": "AD-ID123" // unique ID for ad
    }
  },
    
  // 3.3 Configure Payload: events
  "event": "playhead", //event name
  "position": "300", // position in seconds
  "type": "content", //"content" or "ad"
  "utc": "1456448742000", //unix timestamp in milliseconds 
  "sessid": "xxxjavd6wzirm93xb95uxjy1ac5wu1627638609" // unique for each video play
}

// Append payload to URL
function sendPayloadToNielsen() {
  var payloadStr  = JSON.stringify(payload); // payload as string
  var imgPing = new Image();
  imgPing.onload = function() {
    // onload event, payload succesfull sent
  };
  imgPing.onerror = function() {
    // handle error i.e. wait and send again
  };
  imgPing.src = sessionURL+encodeURIComponent(payloadStr);
}

Enable Debug Logging

Now that you have set up the Cloud API requests, you can enable debug logging to validate your integration. Enabling debug logging is required for Nielsen certification.

GET Request

Display GET Request to console using a name to identify each event (e.g. playhead).

console.log("Event", image);

Payload

Output payload to identify required metadata and events.

console.log("Event Payload", payload);

HTTP Response Code

Confirm request was completed by viewing HTTP response code.

code = msg.GetResponseCode();
console.log("Response Code", code);

You can reference the HTTP Response Code table when reviewing your requests:

Status Code	Status Text	Description
200	OK	request received
403	Forbidden	invalid App ID
404	Not Found	JSON issue

Review the Reference Implementation for VoD and Live Streams

The Reference Implementation covers vod and Live use cases. It also covers DAI (Dynamic Ad Insertion) with preroll and postroll Ads.

In order to start live stream select the checkbox "isLive" in the Playback Settings below the video player.

Start the Reference Implementation for DK RefImplCloudAPIDK.

Review the Nielsen CloudAPI Call Sequence below the Video Player.

Disclose Nielsen Privacy Statement

In order to disclose Nielsen measurement privacy statement, please include the following items in your privacy policy:

• A notice that the player includes third party measurement software that allows users to contribute to market research.
• A link to the Nielsen Digital Measurement Privacy Policy located at https://nielsen.com/legal/privacy-principles/digital-measurement-privacy-statement/?lang=da .

Testing

Before providing an app build to Nielsen for testing, it is important to run validation checks once you have enabled debug logging.

Payload Validation

Ensure that all of the required payload data is populating while testing several videos. The following areas are critical to measurement:

• devInfo
• Asset metadata for both content, and ads
• Events

Player Events

Review event calls:

playhead

• Playhead position updates every 10 seconds starting at position '0' for each new asset for VoD stream and UTC Unix Time in seconds for Live stream.
• Final playhead position is sent on content, or ad before switching between assets.
• Content metadata remains constant throughout an episode, or clip play.
• Ad metadata is populated appropriately for each individual ad.
• Playhead position update resumes for content after an ad break, and resets to 0 for each individual ad.
• For scrubbing, last current position should be sent while scrubbing occurs, and the new position should also be sent where the user scrubs to.
• Exiting a stream early should execute the last current position in a playhead update to receive accurate duration.
• Upon pause, the current position should be sent, and playhead updates should stop incrementing until resume play occurs.

complete

• Check that the complete event executes upon content complete after the final playhead update is sent
• Do not execute the complete event for ads

delete

• Check to see that the delete event occurs upon app exit, if the platform has the necessary exit callback events.

GET Request Format

• Ensure that the event payloads are formatted in JSON
• Check to see that each of the Cloud API GET requests are properly encoded

HTTP Response

• Make sure that each of the Cloud API Get requests are received by the Nielsen Cloud API properly through use of the HTTP Response Code outputs enabled in console.

Go Live

After your integration has been certified, you will need to: Change Endpoint and Disable Logging.

Change Endpoint: You will need to update to the production endpoint:

• Testing: https://sc-eucert.nmrodam.com/nmapi/v2/
• Production: https://capi-dmk.nmrodam.com/nmapi/v2/

Your production URL structure should now be: https://capi-dmk.nmrodam.com/nmapi/v2/[appid]/[sessionID]/a?b=[payload]

Disable Logging: You can now disable debug logging