The ABC (Audit Bureau of Circulations) has gained responsibility of the UK’s Viewability and AV (audio visual) Standards, as a result of the merger between TAG (Trustworthy Accountability Group) and JICWEBS (Joint industry Committee for Web Standards).

The JICWEB’s board – which is made up of the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA), Incorporated Society of British Advertisers (ISBA), Association of Online Publishers (AOP), and the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) UK – made the decision to pass the Standards to ABC.

ABC has worked closely with JICWEBS in the development of the viewability principles and, most recently, had an input in the development of mobile web and in-app viewability testing.

“We’re pleased to be managing these important Standards on behalf of the industry,” said Simon Redlich, Chief Executive at ABC. “They stand as clear benchmarks of good practice and have been the basis of our viewability and AV audit tests over many years. We look forward to facilitating discussions on future developments to best meet the industry’s needs.”