The Programmatic Glossary
A practical glossary designed to help marketers, advertisers and ad-tech professionals understand the terminology that powers programmatic advertising
Measurement & Analytics
Video Completion Rate (VCR)
The percentage of video ads that are watched all the way to the end. A VCR (Video Completion Rate) of 70% means seven out of ten viewers who started watching the ad watched it to completion. It is one of the most important metrics for video advertising quality.
HOW IT WORKS
Video players fire tracking beacons at defined points during playback: 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% completion. VCR (Video Completion Rate) is calculated as the number of completions divided by the number of starts. High VCR indicates an engaged audience and effective ad creative. Low VCR may suggest viewers are skipping, or the ad is playing in a non-viewable position.
EXAMPLE
A 30-second video ad runs across two publishers. Publisher A delivers a 35% VCR (Video Completion Rate): most viewers skip after five seconds. Publisher B delivers an 82% VCR: the audience is highly engaged. The advertiser shifts budget to Publisher B and reviews their creative to understand why viewers are disengaging early.
RELATED TERMS
Viewability | In-Stream Video | VAST (Video Ad Serving Template) | CPM | Click-Through Cate (CTR)
