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.

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

By opting into Barb measurement, Rakuten TV, which operates in over 43 European territories reaching more than 150 million households, joins a group of platforms that have chosen independent verification to provide advertisers with consistent, comparable data.

Stuart Keith, VP Global Ad Strategy & Partnerships at Rakuten TV Enterprise, commented: “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”

“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,” added Keith.

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

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Tags: BARB, measurement, Rakuten TV