NEW YORK Nielsen Media Research said it would launch a service to measure nationally distributed video-on-demand using the same People Meter sample it employs to provide television ratings to national programmers.
The service debuts Dec. 11. Nielsen, like Adweek, is a unit of VNU.
Mirroring Nielsen’s current ratings, clients will receive household and demographic ratings for VOD content, along with other detailed audience information. By measuring VOD content in its national ratings panel, Nielsen will enable clients, for the first time, to compare the performance of programs airing on traditional channels with the performance of those same programs on VOD, the company said.
Nielsen plans to provide VOD reporting to clients who implement “watermarking,” or audio code, technology that identifies specific on-demand titles. Working in conjunction with clients, Nielsen has developed the encoding tools to uniquely “watermark” VOD content so that its newly deployed Active/Passive meter can accurately identify on-demand viewing sessions.
New broadcast and cable network programming that is played back via VOD is already included in Nielsen’s time-shifted viewing ratings, but only if the programming content and advertising is the same as is in the original live telecast.
“Because VOD is a growing business and a potentially valuable new revenue stream for programmers, it is increasingly important for them to understand who is watching their shows and to be able to compare the viewing that is being done via traditional television and VOD,” said Scott Brown, svp at Nielsen. “With this launch, we continue to ‘follow the video’ wherever it is broadcast, while fulfilling a commitment we made to clients who told us last year that VOD measurement was a major priority for them.”
Nielsen had planned to release its controversial commercial ratings on Dec. 11, but the company indefinitely delayed the launch [Adweek Online, Nov. 3].
Sources attributed the delay to one network’s decision to “opt out” of the system to protest the company’s decision to issue live commercial ratings. One source identified ABC as the network. If one of the four major networks opts out, the commercial ratings initiative could collapse, per sources. In a letter to clients, Nielsen said the delay was due to the fact that its day-by-day playback analysis had “further stimulated industry conversation” about how many days of playback should be included in whatever commercial ratings are issued.
—Adweek staff report
Nielsen Preps VOD Ratings
