CIM ONE’s Total Video currency: a preparation checklist before January 2027

Belgium’s audience measurement body, CIM, is moving its video figures onto a new system called CIM ONE. According to The Media Leader Belgium (29 October 2026), daily deliveries of test data are planned to start on 2 November 2026, and the introduction of the new Total Video currency is still planned for 1 January 2027.

That leaves roughly two months of testing and validation before the switch. Any 2027 deal agreed before then may be reported, at least in part, on figures the market has not yet traded on. This article turns the published timetable into a checklist for sales houses, publishers, agencies and advertisers, and says where the sources differ or are silent.

What has been announced

CIM describes CIM ONE as a hybrid system that combines a cross-media panel with large census datasets, such as logs and tags. The goal is uniform Total Video, Total Audio and Total Digital indicators that reflect actual consumption whatever the screen.

On the panel side, the CIM ONE page describes two components. CIM TAM, the TV panel run with GfK, measures TV-set viewing in about 1,500 households (around 3,700 individuals aged 4+) and online consumption at home through a Router Meter. CIM XMP is a new cross-media panel with passive measurement of TV, audio and online use, at home and out of home, using Ipsos (Mediacell+) and RealityMine technology. In June 2026 the Dutch-speaking XMP panel was producing weekly data, while the French-speaking panel was still being built, with a target of 1,500 members by 30 September 2026. We have not found confirmation that this target was met.

• 2 November 2026 first daily test data deliveries planned
• 1 January 2027 planned start of the Total Video currency
• About 1 million virtual individuals in the video reporting base at first, up from 3,500 individuals
• 12 million virtual individuals, CIM’s aim for 2028

The wording around the start date matters. In a June 2026 interview, CIM research director Michael Debels said: “If the schedule is respected, the market will be able to use these results from 1 January 2027.” A Media Leader article of 8 May 2026, republished by CIM, explains that new measurements are first built in parallel with existing studies without publication, then gradually converted into official currencies. It expects first Total Video publications from January 2027, with Total Audio and Total Publishing following in 2027 (it mentions April and October). The introduction to a CIM interview with the UBA’s CEO in July 2026 describes CIM ONE as due to be operational by the end of 2027, which refers to the wider system rather than the video currency. We read 1 January as the start of the currency, not as the day every Total Video output becomes final.

What changes, and what does not

Combining screens is not new. CIM’s results centre already labels “TV & Video” as Total Video, covering the main TV screen and computers, tablets and smartphones, with web rating included. What changes is the method and the reporting base.

According to The Media Leader, file formats stay largely the same, but the video reporting base moves from 3,500 individuals to about one million virtual individuals who together reflect the Belgian population. A taskforce on the virtual population started in October 2026. Our inference, not a CIM statement: a larger base may help reporting on narrow targets, but the virtual individuals are modelled from panel and census data, and CIM has not said how much variability the model removes.

A note on the figures: the 3,500 individuals are The Media Leader’s description of the current video reporting base, while the 3,700 individuals aged 4+ are CIM’s description of the TAM panel. The sources do not explain the difference, so ask CIM which base your current reports rest on before comparing old and new results.

On continuity, Debels said in June 2026 that the TAM first screen and Total TV outputs stay identical, that historical comparisons for the first screen are largely unaffected and that TAM remains the reference study. Our inference is that trend breaks are more likely in other-screen, digital and cross-platform figures. Debels described other screen usage as around 30 to 35% of usage and not yet sufficiently qualified (June 2026). No source quantifies the expected breaks, so treat their size as unknown.

Scope is the main gap. In the sources we found, CIM has not published a separate statement of which platforms and devices the Total Video currency covers at launch. The closest is the UBA’s undated CIM page on the intended ToVA Post-Buy scope: linear TV, broadcaster VOD, addressable TV via telco platforms and online video, long and short form, across TV, connected TV, desktop and mobile. That page describes measurement across local broadcasters’ video properties, and the May 2026 Post-Buy guide says international streaming services are to be integrated later. The May 2026 Media Leader article republished by CIM also notes that international platforms such as Netflix, YouTube and Spotify are only partly included in current studies.

For publishers and sales houses

• Confirm what you receive. The Media Leader reports that software vendors were shown the new files and the required changes on 20 October 2026. It does not say who else receives the daily test data. Ask CIM directly.
• Check your tools. CIM certifies software that calculates currency results, so that every tool applies the same calculation rules. Ask your planning and reporting vendors when their CIM ONE integration will be ready and certified.
• Validate the test data if you can access it. Compare test results with your 2026 figures and your own delivery logs by programme, target and platform. Document the gaps while CIM is still in its November and December validation period.
• Ask about technical requirements. CIM ONE uses census data such as logs and tags, but we found no published tagging or integration requirements for publishers’ video. Clarify this before January.
• Prepare the client story. Explain what CIM expects to stay stable (first screen), what may move (other screens, cross-platform) and why the base changed.

For agencies and advertisers

• Name the currency in 2027 deals. State whether guarantees refer to 2026 figures or to the new currency, and what applies if a publication is delayed. Check the wording with your legal team.
• Keep two benchmark sets. Do not compare raw 2027 other-screen or cross-platform results with 2026 ones. CIM expects first-screen output to stay the same; for the rest, document any break.
• Clarify post-campaign tools. CIM’s page said ToVA Post-Buy would follow by summer 2026, while a guide dated May 2026 mentioned a fuller launch in autumn 2026. We found no confirmation that it is live as of 29 October 2026.
• Do not assume a de-duplication method. The ToVA Post-Buy guide, written by a DPG Media contributor with UBA Belgium and published by CIM, describes how Post-Buy removes overlap: per VOD platform, then across VOD, then with linear TV, with each broadcaster’s census data kept separate. That describes Post-Buy, not necessarily the currency.

What the currency does not tell you

We found no CIM statement that the Total Video currency will include viewability or attention metrics. In July 2026 the UBA’s CEO stressed the need to agree on what counts as a contact, for example two seconds versus a full view.

Nor did we find any statement that the currency will replace impressions, completion rates or verification data. We think confusion is likely when these numbers sit side by side in one dashboard without shared definitions, so a short glossary of which metric answers which question is worth writing now.

What to do between now and January

1. This week: name an owner and list every place CIM figures enter contracts, planning tools and dashboards.
2. From 2 November: ask CIM or your software vendor whether you can access the test data; if you can, compare it with 2026 figures on the same targets.
3. November: agree the currency clause for 2027 deals on both sides.
4. December: update reporting templates and brief sales teams and clients.
5. January: where possible, report the first campaigns on old and new bases in parallel.

Questions to put to CIM, your vendors and your trading partners:

• Which Total Video outputs are official on 1 January 2027, and which follow later?
• Which platforms, devices and content types are in scope at launch?
• Is our planning and reporting software certified for CIM ONE files?
• How is a contact defined, and how is overlap between screens handled in the currency?

We think the switch is a measurement change rather than a market shock, provided both sides agree in writing which numbers they trade on. Teams that validate test data in November and December should face fewer disputes once the first 2027 reports arrive.

Researched and drafted by KASIS Writer, our AI agent, from the public sources below. Reviewed and edited by the KASIS team.

Sources

• CIM ONE : la nouvelle currency Total Video entre bientôt en phase de test, The Media Leader BE, 29 October 2026.
• Michael Debels takes stock of CIM ONE progress – Interview MM, CIM, 2 June 2026.
• CIM ONE, CIM.
• CIM ONE: Transition to consumer-centric measurement – article The Media Leader 08/05/2026, CIM (republishing a Media Leader article), 11 May 2026.
• Results center (CIM), CIM.
• CIM ONE; Mesure vidéo cross-plateformes : un guide ToVA Post-Buy pour les annonceurs, CIM, 19 May 2026.
• CIM – United Brands Association, UBA (United Brands Association).
• CIM ONE: “Belgium is once again becoming a global player in media measurement” – Luc Suykens (interview UBA), CIM, 7 July 2026.
• Software vendors, CIM.