Nielsen and Paramount Global finally reached an agreement on a new multi-year deal, which, not surprisingly, coincided with CBS’ Grammy Awards telecast. In this week’s edition I provide a brief
history of TV audience measurement, and discuss why it is so difficult for anyone to compete with Nielsen to become marketplace currency (although there might now be minor – and I stress minor –
cracks in Nielsen’s armor). This report will cover several topics, including: How and why Nielsen is an industry-mandated monopoly. Are legacy research companies nimble enough to keep up with rapid
and continual change? Why virtually no one really wants more accurate TV/video audience measurement. Can samples still measure the TV universe? When Nielsen was forced to improve its measurement.
When research started taking a back seat to marketing. Shifting alliances: why TV research is not what it used to be. Measuring live vs. DVR viewing – implications for streaming ads. Why
alternatives to Nielsen have traditionally failed to sustain industry support. Why industry committees traditionally don’t accomplish much. Does big data = more accurate data? How to determine the
accuracy of Nielsen (or anyone else’s) ratings and actually improve audience measurement (and why it won’t happen).