Glossary of Media Terms

Impressions – Number of homes or individuals exposed to an advertisement or group of advertisements. In Internet parlance, the total number of times an advertising banner has been served to the Web population. To be counted as an impression, the banner has to successfully load on the user's browser.

Independent Station – A commercial television broadcast station not affiliated with a network.

Instantaneous Audimeter - See, Audimeter.

Instructional Television Fixed Service (ITFS) – A TV delivery service by line-of-sight microwave that the FCC licenses to educational institutions.

In-Tab – In a research sample, the number of households or persons supplying useable information for reports or special tabulations. In-tab is usually expressed as a percent of the sample supplying usable information on an average day.

Interactive Cable – A cable system capable of two way communications, from home-to-system as well as system-to-home. Also called Two-Way Cable.

INTV – See Association of Independent Television Stations.

Interconnect – Several cable systems joined together in a specific area for purpose of selling advertising; also called cable interconnects or regional interconnects.

Internet – The world's largest Wide Area Network. A collection of computers physically linked by high speed modems and phone lines.

Internet Protocol (IP) – The numerical address for any system connected to the Internet. Every system on the Internet has an IP assigned to it. Also, rules used for transmitting data over a network.

Interstitial – Meaning "in-between;" an advertisement that appears in a separate browser window while the user waits for a Web page to load.

Inventory – Commercial spots available on a station.