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The
deal comes as Nielsen, the leader in TV measurement, faces
fierce criticism from its TV industry clients, many of which say
it has insufficiently captured consumers' shift to streaming.
Nielsen measures TV audiences through a sample set of panelists
who use special devices in their homes.
Through the partnership, Comcast Corp-owned NBCU will measure
traditional linear, streaming and time-shifted viewing on a
second-by-second basis, a method the media giant believes will
more accurately capture changing viewing habits.
NBCU is launching the partnership in time to measure audiences
of the Beijing Olympic Games and Super Bowl LVI, both of which
will be broadcast on NBC and streamed on its Peacock streaming
service.
TV ratings are the backbone of the industry's business model,
enabling advertisers to track viewers and helping networks set
the price for ad slots. TV advertising is expected to total $171
billion this year, according to a forecast from ad agency GroupM.
In April the trade group representing the major television
networks said Nielsen undercounted TV viewers during the
pandemic when the company's technicians were unable to get into
panelists' homes to fix devices. That charge was later confirmed
by the Media Ratings Council (MRC), which enforces measurement
standards in media, and which in September stripped Nielsen of
its accreditation for both local and national TV measurement.
On Aug. 23, weeks after its broadcast of the Tokyo Olympics,
which drew a record-low audience, NBCU issued a call for
"measurement independence." It issued a request for proposals to
54 companies, including Nielsen, inviting them to participate in
a new set of measurement tools to help "modernize the industry's
approach."
(Reporting by Helen Coster in New York; Editing by Richard
Chang)
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