TV ratings have soared amid coronavirus quarantines, but those same quarantines are making it harder for Nielsen to maintain the 45,000-household panel behind those ratings, AdAge reports.
It raises questions about how long Nielsen ratings can keep the accreditation from the Media Rating Council (MRC) that lets them serve as currency in most TV deals, but it’s also accelerating long-contemplated improvements in how Nielsen measures TV viewing.
It raises questions about how long Nielsen ratings can keep the accreditation from the Media Rating Council (MRC) that lets them serve as currency in most TV deals, but it’s also accelerating long-contemplated improvements in how Nielsen measures TV viewing.
Historically, Nielsen has needed a constant stream of new panelists to replace people who quit, age out of demographics or are removed automatically after two years to maintain data quality. Onboarding new panelists traditionally has involved home visits to conduct surveys and install metering equipment—visits now largely forbidden by stay-at-home orders around the country.
For now, Nielsen’s TV ratings are in no imminent danger of losing accreditation, but MRC CEO George Ivie says the organization has shifted the focus of its auditors to the workarounds being employed by Nielsen and other research providers that historically relied on face-to-face visits as part of their methodologies.
The MRC committee that oversees Nielsen ratings heard from executives for three hours in April and, Ivie says, evidence so far indicates that workarounds Nielsen has put in place are working.
Those workarounds include temporarily suspending the two-year term limit for panelists, providing increased financial incentives to retain participants, accelerating the rollout of newer “Nano” meters that can more readily be installed and fixed remotely, and otherwise reworking the onboarding process to allow remote surveys and self-service installation, according to Nielsen executives.
Ultimately, Nielsen might increase the mix of Portable People Meters (now used for radio and some local TV ratings) in its TV ratings collection and find more ways to incorporate passively collected “return-path data” from set-top cable boxes into TV audience measurement.
Disaster drill
Nielsen call centers are “doing a good job of being creative about how we maintain the panel by troubleshooting any issues we may have in metering in a remote manner,” says Scott Brown, general manager and head of TV and audio products for Nielsen. Panel size and participation are “outperforming our most optimistic scenarios,” he says.
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| George Ivie |
The MRC committee that oversees Nielsen ratings heard from executives for three hours in April and, Ivie says, evidence so far indicates that workarounds Nielsen has put in place are working.
Those workarounds include temporarily suspending the two-year term limit for panelists, providing increased financial incentives to retain participants, accelerating the rollout of newer “Nano” meters that can more readily be installed and fixed remotely, and otherwise reworking the onboarding process to allow remote surveys and self-service installation, according to Nielsen executives.
Ultimately, Nielsen might increase the mix of Portable People Meters (now used for radio and some local TV ratings) in its TV ratings collection and find more ways to incorporate passively collected “return-path data” from set-top cable boxes into TV audience measurement.
Disaster drill
Nielsen call centers are “doing a good job of being creative about how we maintain the panel by troubleshooting any issues we may have in metering in a remote manner,” says Scott Brown, general manager and head of TV and audio products for Nielsen. Panel size and participation are “outperforming our most optimistic scenarios,” he says.
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