Measuring TV, Internet & Mobile Media Audiences
Can Nielsen or Anyone Keep Pace with all the New Advertising Media?
Aug 17, 2009
Nielsen Media Research has been dominating the television rating business for over a half century, but the industry is preparing to see if its own organization can do a better job measuring the exploding 21st Century ad media.
The rapid, simultaneous growth of Internet advertising, mobile media, video recording technology, social media and online video has created measuring demands that challenge current technology and engineering ingenuity. The industry’s new emphasis on tightly focused media and carefully targeted audiences has amplified those demands.
Frustrated TV networks, marketing giants and advertising agencies let it be known in 2009 that they were forming a consortium to establish and finance a Nielsen competitor.
Kenneth Li of the Financial Times reported that the consortium included:
- Media networks NBC Universal, CBS, Discovery,Time Warner,Viacom, News Corp and Walt Disney.
- Advertising giants Procter & Gamble, AT&T and Unilever
- Several advertising agencies, including WPP’s GroupM and Starcom MediaVest.
The format, ownership, financing and management of the new service had not been announced by August 2009, but the consortium’s move might be compared to the establishment of the Associated Press in the 19th Century. Newspapers created the AP as a cooperative to provide national and international news to local papers.
Nielsen Ratings Often Challenged
Nielsen television ratings have been accepted by the networks, advertisers and ad agencies for decades, but not without challenges. The firm’s switch from using viewer print diaries to remote controls sparked major complaints that the controls were under-measuring some viewing.
Nielsen now determines its television ratings by polling 18,000 homes in which families click on the remote controls to indicate which programs they are viewing
Sam Armando, senior vice-president at Starcom Mediavest, told Financial Times that the biggest problem with current Nielsen services "is there’s no single source measurement" for television and digital video.
Financial Times said Nielsen does measure television and online video interaction through a "convergence panel of about 2,800 people," but those numbers are not yet part of the ratings. A "full rollout" of that program is expected by 2011.
Nielsen has said it can provide the information the industry wants.
Three-Screen Measurement System
According to Research.Live.com, a Nielsen spokesman acknowledged that other firms offer "more precise" analysis of particular media. But he added that Nielsen was focusing on and investing in the development of products that clients request and they are now asking for a three-screen (television, online and mobile) measurement system.
In what may be a prioritizing of those clients, the Nielsen website says:
"Whether your business is movie studios, radio stations, online portals, a new cable network or a local affiliate, Nielsen will help you know more, see what’s next and move forward confidently." TV networks, giant retailers and ad agencies are not mentioned.
Anytime Anywhere Media Measurement
The website says the company is pursuing the three-screen process through its "Anytime Anywhere Media Measurement" initiative. It adds that Nielsen has "advanced measurement solutions to accurately measure media consumption on television and the Internet, with plans for measurement of mobile media via panels."
That promise has not steered the consortium away from establishing a rival service. It planned to announce the start of the new service this year. However, The New York Times quoted a media executive saying it would be "years down the road" before a viable new rating service could be established.
If that occurs, the industry may have a new problem: choosing between conflicting ratings.
References:
Networks and marketers plan rival TV ratings service," by James Verrinder, Research-Live.com, 8.14.09
"Media companies seek rival for Nielsen ratings," by Bill Carter and Stuart Elliott, The New York Times, 8.14.09
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