Friday, September 20, 2013

Nielsen To Go Mobile

Arbitron Deal Okay Expected Today

Nielsen has long been a kingmaker in the TV industry. Its ratings data, which tracks viewership of shows, determines how advertisers shell out some $66 billion annually. But the company has been slow to adapt to new technologies and expand its reach to other media services, industry critics say.

Now Nielsen is making some significant moves, according toThe Wall Street Journal.

Next week Nielsen will announce plans to augment its TV ratings data with information on viewing on tablets and smartphones, meeting a major demand of media companies that say they aren't getting credit in the current system for viewing on mobile devices. The change won't take effect until next fall's TV season, however.

Nielsen also plans to roll out a planned Twitter-related ratings service on Sept. 30. It will measure the audience that sees tweets about TV shows to help gauge their popularity. Early findings showed that for every one tweet about a TV show, roughly 50 people see it, the company says.

Meanwhile, the company's $1.3 billion acquisition of Arbitron that also has technology to advance Nielsen's TV measurement capabilities outside homes, could get approval from the Federal Trade Commission as early as Friday, people familiar with the situation said.

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