NBCU Regional Sports Network Digital Video Guidelines

This page provides creative standard guidelines and specifications for local digital video inventory across connected TV (CTV), desktop, and mobile on NBCUniversal’s Regional Sports Network properties.

Questions?

Contact your Account Management team or email localspecs@nbcuni.com

Ad specs by creative format

Creative component	Single bitrate	Multi bitrate
Asset type	Video Asset (Must provide 1×1)	VAST/VPAID JS (shortform only)
Format	Preferred: Full-frame uncompressed Quicktime (MOV) file  MPEG-2 (.mpg) MPEG-4 (MP4)	HDS + HLS + MP4
Length	15 seconds or 30 seconds	15 seconds or 30 seconds
Resolution	1920×1080	1920×1080/ 1280×720
File types/formats	Secure HTTPS	Secure HTTPS
Aspect ratio	16:09	16:09
Frame rate	29.97fps, 23.98fps, or 25fps	29.97
Video codecs	Preferred: Apple ProRes 422 HQ codec (video bitrate of at least 800 Kbps) H.264 video bitrate of at least 50 Mbps (Accepted profiles: High, Main, Baseline) DV/DVCPro NTSC (DV25) or DVC Pro NTSC (DV50)	Preferred: H.264 (Accepted profiles: High, Main, Baseline) DV/DVCPro NTSC (DV25) or DVC Pro NTSC (DV50)
Minimum bitrate	10 Mbps	10 Mbps
Audio codecs	AAC- Stereo 16 bit 48 or 56 KHz Sudio sample rate: 44.1 kHz	AAC- Stereo 16 bit 48 or 56 KHz Audio sample rate: 44.1 kHz
Video editing	The file should include only the ad (15/30 seconds) and not require any editing or clipping before transcoding (e.g., no bars/tones, slates)	The file should include only the ad (15/30 seconds) and not require any editing or clipping before transcoding (e.g., no bars/tones, slates, etc.)
Video tracking	Impressions: 3rd-party tracking pixel (noscript tag) Research tracking: pixel tags only Clicks: click- redirect/click command to track clicks on the video window	VAST/VPAID vendor must be verified by NBCU

Creative guidelines

Creative due to NBC Account Management team 5 business days prior to launch.
Ad unit content must be clearly distinguishable from normal webpage content (i.e., ad unit must have clearly defined borders and not be confused with normal page content).
Max allowance of 3 site-served creatives per size per placement at a time with a max of 3 swaps per quarter.
All ad units must have a 1 pixel black border surrounding entire creative.
All tags must be secure.
Research tracking must be approved prior to launch (i.e., no ad blocking, bank end targeting, user tracking).
One or all of the resolutions mentioned can be used.

Multiple durations are not allowed within the same tag. All creatives of the same duration must be on one tag. For example, all 30-second creatives must rotate on the back end of one tag instead of being split out into several tags.

3rd-party requirements
- All click-thru URLs must open in a new browser window unless using an in-site URL.
- Must code to GPT asynchronous tags in order to detect the amount of iFrames to bust.
- Ad creative and landing pages that employ exit pop-ups are not permitted.
- We cannot accept blocking tags.
Technical guidelines
- Z-index: 0-4,999
- W-model transparents
- Standard display click tag instructions: getURL (clickTag, "_blank")