New York, NY, April 30, 2026 — Guideline today announced the launch of a product expansion to its Guideline SQADCosts Local solutions delivering CPM benchmarks for locally geo-targeted digital video and audio buys across the top 60+ publishers in the U.S. market.
For decades, Guideline SQADCosts Local has been the trusted reference point for local linear pricing on the buy and sell sides. The Digital Extension brings the same Average / Low / High benchmarking framework into Connected TV, audio streaming, and podcasting specifically focused on locally geo-targeted media.
Filling a Gap for Local-First Buyers and Sellers
Local-first advertisers and the publishers serving this audience have long needed digital pricing intelligence calibrated to how they actually transact. National digital benchmarks offer limited utility for buyers whose plans are primarily geo-targeted, and for sellers competing on local and regional inventory. The Guideline SQADCosts Local Digital Extension closes that gap, reporting exclusively on locally geo-targeted media and normalizing every data point to a comparable baseline across publishers, content, and targeting.
Coverage spans the top 60+ top video and audio publishers in the U.S., including major CTV streamers, ad-supported video platforms, audio streaming services, and podcast networks.
"Guideline SQADCosts Local has long been the standard for local pricing transparency in linear, and our customers have asked us to bring that same level of clarity to digital media," said Vincent Mifsud, CEO of Guideline. "The Digital Extension gives local-first buyers and sellers a like-for-like view of geo-targeted CPMs across CTV, digital video, audio streaming, and podcasting, reported in the same Average, Low, and High framework they already rely on every day."
A Comparable Baseline Across Publishers
Direct comparability across publishers has historically been one of the hardest problems in digital benchmarking, given differences in audience targeting, ad length, content type, and inventory packaging. The Digital Extension addresses this by normalizing every reported data point to a consistent baseline:
- Locally geo-targeted placements only
- Broad-audience targeting (P2+, A18+)
- Ad Length breakouts
- Entertainment vs Sports content
- Monthly Average, Low, and High CPM at the publisher level
Built for Both Sides of the Media Marketplace
The Average / Low / High structure is designed to match the Guideline SQADCosts Local linear offering and support the everyday questions buyers and sellers must answer as they plan and transact media inventory, from buy-side price benchmarking to sell-side competitive analysis.
The product is available now as an extension to the SQADCosts Local solution.
About Guideline
Guideline is a global provider of ad intelligence and media plan management technology powering the strategy, planning, and management of advertising buying and selling for the world's leading enterprises. Our solutions deliver the industry's most comprehensive and timely insights, enabling enterprises from publishers, agencies, and brands to investors and consulting firms to optimize media performance and drive superior business outcomes.
Our proprietary spend and pricing data represents approximately $200 billion in annual media investment across 65 countries worldwide, providing the most complete and transparent view of the global advertising marketplace available today.
For more information, visit https://www.guideline.ai
