NBCU Standard Digital Guidelines and Specifications
This page provides standard creative guidelines and specifications for NBCUniversal’s local and national digital video inventory on connected TV (CTV, including set-top box VOD), desktop, and mobile.
The specifications on this page apply to the following NBCUniversal brands:
Bravo
CNBC
E!
Fandango
MSNBC
NBC
NBC News
NBC Sports
NBCUniversal-owned stations (NBC and Telemundo)
Peacock
Oxygen
Rotten Tomatoes
SYFY
Telemundo
TODAY
USA
Questions?
Contact @NBC Uni Specs & Guidelines
Specs and creative guidelines by ad format
The following table provides a comprehensive list of specifications and guidelines for each creative format we accept.
Supported ad lengths
The following ad lengths are accepted across NBCUniversal’s digital video portfolio (depending on content type).
Pre-roll – 6 seconds, 15 seconds, and 30 seconds
Mid-roll – 15 seconds, 30 seconds, 45 seconds, and 60 seconds
Peacock accepts 90 seconds upon request
Livestream
Pre-roll – 15 seconds
Mid-roll – 15 seconds, 30 seconds, 45 seconds, and 60 seconds (limited inventory for 60)
Speak to your account representative for more information.
Creative rotation policy
The maximum creatives allowed in rotation at one time is six. NBCU will review any additional creative requests on an as-needed basis.
No dark dates are permitted at a client level. In the event no brands are live, evergreen creative will run until brands start running again.
NBCU requires one tag to run across all platforms and devices.
For creative swaps, NBCU must receive assets at least five days before swap.
Standard digital
This page provides creative guidelines for standard digital buying across NBCU’s streaming portfolio.
Ad format | Site-served | VAST 2.0 | VAST 3.0 (YouTube skippable only) | VPAID (desktop + mobile web only) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ad units | Pre-roll / Mid-roll | Pre-roll / Mid-roll | Pre-roll skippable | Pre-roll / Mid-roll |
Renditions | N/A | 4 total: mezzanine (mezz), high, medium, and low | N/A | N/A |
Dimensions | 1920×1080 HD |
|
| 1920×1080 |
Max file size | 10 GB |
| 10MB | 2MB |
File format | MP4 or MOV Livestream - MOV strongly preferred; MPEG-2 (.mpg)
|
|
| HTML5 VPAID 2.0, Flash VPAID 2.0, or Dynamic VPAID 2.0 (containing both Flash and HTML5)
|
Bitrate | Greater than 15Mbps |
| Must contain at least one media file under 1 Mbps | 420 Kbps |
Frame rate | Preferred: 29.97 fps based on native frame rate Accepted: 23.98 or 25 fps based on native frame rate
| Preferred: 29.97 fps based on native frame rate Accepted: 23.98 or 25 fps based on native frame rate
| Up to 30 fps | Preferred: 29.97 fps based on native frame rate Accepted: 23.98 or 25 fps based on native frame rate
|
Aspect ratio | 16:9 |
| 16:9 or 4:3 | 16:9 |
Video codec |
|
| H.264 (Accepted profiles: High, Main, Baseline)
| H.264 (Accepted profiles: High, Main, Baseline)
|
Audio codec |
|
| MP3 or AAC preferred |
|
Ad countdown clock |
| |||
Additional notes | Additional specs for Livestream:
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Ad categories that require review
The following categories of creatives require prior approval of NBCUniversal—provided in its sole discretion—72 hours prior to campaign launch:
Require review by Standards
CBD products (topical, non-ingestible)
Controversial issues and political advertising
Dietary supplements (e.g., vitamins, supplements)
Fantasy sports
Gambling
Homeopathic remedies
Weight-loss products
Require review by Sales
Competitive television and streaming services
Prohibited categories
Adult products and services
Astrology, fortune telling, and psychic services
Cannabis and marijuana (ingestible)
Firearms, weapons, and fireworks
Get-rich-quick and pyramid schemes
Illegal drugs, products, services and paraphernalia
Lawyer advertising
Religious advertising
Tobacco products (including e-cigarettes)
Approved creative, research, and verification vendors
Secure 3rd-party impression tracking pixel tag (noscript tag) accepted
Secure research tracking pixel tag accepted (not STB)
Secure HTTPS tags only
Comcast X1 requires tracking pixels to support DualStack IPV4/IPV6 connectivity
Secure quartile tracking accepted
For a list of approved 3rd-party vendors please reference NBCU’s Approved Creative, Research & Verification Vendors