Comscore and Nielsen Square Off Amid Measurement Fallout

As the industry continues to reel from the de-accreditation of Nielsen’s national and local TV ratings service, the company’s largest rival is looking to gain ground. In an open letter published today, Comscore CEO and executive vice chairman Bill Livek looked to win industry points by declaring Comscore as the measurement currency of the future, as well as taking aim at Nielsen. “For the first time, buyers and sellers throughout the industry are in agreement: The outdated panel-dependent measurement from the past (and whose under-reporting cost the industry billions) no longer serves the diverse needs of today’s modern media environment,” Livek wrote in the letter. “For years, the industry stuck with the same antiquated service out of fear of the risk of change. However, we are now at a point where the risk of staying with a provider incapable of measuring modern audiences is simply too great. The time for change is here, and the choice is clear.” Comscore Taps New CFO as It Looks to Make Measurement Inroads The open letter comes in response to a column penned last week by Nielsen svp of data science Molly Poppie in Broadcasting and Cable. In that column, Poppie detailed the limitations and inaccuracies that come from using big data sets, and pointed to Comscore as a prime example. “You’re almost guaranteed to have massive gaps and errors in your estimates,” Poppie wrote, pointing to Comscore’s move away from Nielsen’s Portable People Meters as a data source and to a co-viewing metric. “This may be acceptable if the use case is targeting, but this data on its own does not provide the accuracy, objectivity and transparency required to deliver measurement.” In the letter today, Livek referenced the remarks directly and took aim at Nielsen’s own efforts at bringing big data into its measurement tools. “Perhaps we shouldn’t be too surprised at their admitted skepticism regarding the use of large-scale data, given the challenges they’ve had moving away from small panels with single-digit response rates within their own service,” Livek wrote. The dueling columns and shots across the bow come as the industry tries to determine its next steps without a national third party-accredited measurement option on which to transact, and as Nielsen looks to shore up its product and restore trust with industry partners, promising to accelerate fixes and add big data to improve its product overall. Comscore, meanwhile, is looking to gain ground by positioning the company as a reliable and viable alternative. “While others in the industry are only now beginning to consider a future of measurement that puts audiences first, Comscore has the infrastructure, methodology and secure data assets in place to realize this future today,” Livek wrote in the letter. The company continues to make updates to its measurement products, and it is also staffing up: Earlier this week, Comscore hired a new chief financial officer. Converged TV Study Reveals Need for New Currencies & Holistic Cross-Platform Measurement

Measurement

Comscore and Nielsen Square Off as Measurement Fallout Continues

Top execs take shots at one another in dueling remarks

Kelsey Sutton

About

Subscriptions

Events

Publications

WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

Subscribe today!

Kelsey Sutton