European streamer strengthens position in UK AV ecosystem with verified reach and incremental audiences

Rakuten TV Enterprise, the B2B arm of Rakuten TV, has signed up with the official UK audience measurement JIC, becoming the latest streaming platform to be tracked by Barb. The move, effective immediately, marks a significant step in validating its audience and reinforces its commitment to transparency and measurable performance in an increasingly fragmented TV landscape.

Owned by Rakuten Group, the European streamer will now have its audiences independently measured using Barb’s methodology – the same standard applied to broadcasters and major SVOD and BVOD streaming platforms such as Netflix and ITVX.

This enables advertisers to assess Rakuten TV’s audiences using a well-recognised and established data measurement, providing greater consistency and confidence in media investment and a clearer view of incremental reach – particularly among younger and harder-to-reach audiences.

Rakuten TV operates primarily in the ad-supported space, with a strong focus on FAST (free ad-supported streaming TV), which is one of the fastest-growing segments in the European market.

Initial Barb data (W2–5 2026) shows Rakuten TV reaching approximately 2 million individuals in the UK, positioning them as one of the most popularly viewed hybrid platforms in the UK.

Rakuten TV’s move to join Barb reflects a broader industry shift, as ad-supported streaming platforms seek standardised measurement to compete more effectively for brand budgets, reinforcing FAST’s role as a bridge between linear TV and on-demand streaming.

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A Transparent, Digital-First Approach to Measurement

By opting into Barb measurement, Rakuten TV, which operates in over 43 European territories reaching more than 150M households, joins a group of platforms that have chosen independent verification to provide advertisers with consistent, comparable data. This proactive decision reinforces Rakuten TV’s position as a transparent, digital-first platform bridging the gap between traditional TV and programmatic advertising, while setting a new benchmark for measurement within the FAST ecosystem.

Stuart Keith, VP Global Ad Strategy & Partnerships at Rakuten TV Enterprise said: “Partnering with Barb is an active choice to be fully transparent with the market. In an increasingly fragmented TV environment, advertisers require clarity and consistency. By aligning with Barb, we’re speaking the same measurement language as the wider industry while clearly demonstrating the unique value we can bring through incremental audience reach. This is about more than measurement. It’s about trust, giving advertisers confidence in both the scale of our audiences and our ability to reach viewers that other platforms aren’t”

He added: “As FAST continues to grow within the mainstream TV ecosystem, standardised measurement is key to unlocking its full value for advertisers. We’re proud to be a leading player among FAST/hybrid platforms in adopting Barb, as it complements our existing audience analytics and enables partners to make smarter, more effective media investment decisions.”

Incremental Reach Highlights

Barb data shows Rakuten TV delivers meaningful incremental audiences across the TV and streaming landscape- unlocking audiences that are otherwise inaccessible:

• 54.6% of Rakuten TV viewers are not present on any other FAST platform^[1]
• Reaching cord-cutters at scale: 11% of viewers did not watch content from BBC1, BBC2, ITV1, Channel 4 or Channel 5 during the same four-week period, making them entirely unreachable via these linear TV channels, representing a crucial opportunity for advertisers on connected TV platforms. Among younger audiences, this rises to 27% of 16–24s and 17% of 25–34s

For advertisers, this positions Rakuten TV as a complementary, and truly valuable, platform delivering net-new audiences rather than duplicated impressions.

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A Unique Audience in a Fragmented Landscape

Rakuten TV attracts a distinct mix of light linear viewers, cord-cutters, and “cord-nevers” – audiences increasingly absent from traditional broadcast strategies. Barb data highlights its ability to deliver a unique and incremental audience segment that cannot easily be replicated elsewhere.

As a leading FAST/hybrid platform, Rakuten TV combines a free, accessible viewing environment with digital-first, programmatic capabilities, playing a key role in the evolution of TV. Its integration with Barb reinforces a commitment to transparent, standardised measurement, positioning the platform to help advertisers navigate the ongoing shift of TV budgets into digital channels.

By aligning with a Joint Industry Currency (JIC), Rakuten TV is contributing to more consistent, standardised measurement in a fragmented streaming landscape.

Source: Barb · W2–5 2026 · Panel 750 Online Multiple Screens Network · 3-minute threshold

^[1] FAST defined as Barb-measured viewing of Samsung TV Plus, Pluto, Tubi and LG Channels.

Rakuten TV, a Rakuten Group Company, is a leading streaming platform in Europe offering a combination of TVOD, AVOD and FAST curated in partnership with over 500 European and International media companies.  Rakuten TV is accessible in 43 European territories across mobile, web and TV and reaches more than 150 million households via its branded remote-control button and pre-installed app in connected TVs.

Through its B2B brand ‘Rakuten TV Enterprise’, it leverages 15+ years of experience to simplify CTV and Streaming for its partners, including building FAST channels and multi-screen apps, enabling TVOD, AVOD & FAST streaming services, or delivering a scalable Pan-European CTV advertising solution.

Barb is the industry’s standard for understanding what people watch.

Previously known as the Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board, Barb changed its name in 2023 to Barb Audiences to reflect a strategy that has extended the industry’s standard measurement across TV companies, VOD streamers and video-sharing platforms.

Our hybrid approach integrates people-based panel data with census-level online viewing data. Our methodology enables us to deliver inclusive measurement of total viewing across all broadcast, VOD and video-sharing platforms, delivered onto and consumed via multiple platforms and devices.

Barb is a joint-industry measurement system that forms part of the collective evidence structure that supports a healthy media market. Our data enables:

‣        advertisers to trade fairly,

‣        investors and commissioners to make informed content decisions,

‣        regulators to assess markets using comparable data, and

‣        policymakers to evaluate media sustainability and plurality.