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TV Companies Team Up to Take On Nielsen

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Aug 14, 2009 6:37 AM CDT

(Newser) – A group of media companies has joined forces with major advertisers to challenge Nielsen's dominance in TV ratings measurement, the Financial Times reports. The firms involved—including NBC, Time Warner, Disney, and Procter & Gamble—aim to have their rival audience measurement scheme up and running by next month, a move that could potentially shake up the way in which the $70 billion spent on TV ads yearly is parceled out.

Analysts say the massive rise in online TV viewing via sites like Hulu has made measuring more difficult, and more important, increasing dissatisfaction with Nielsen: "The most deficient thing is there’s no single source measurement," for television and digital video, one expert says. Nielsen currently measures internet video viewing through a "convergence panel," but those figures don't form part of the national sample it bases ratings on; its full roll-out the TV-internet polling isn't expected until 2011.

Nielsen measures viewing figures through the polling of 18,000 homes fitted with special remote controls. (Shutter Stock)

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TV Companies Team Up to Take On Nielsen

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NBC's Ratings Keep Sinking

Viewership down 9.3% from year before

Oprah Finale Draws Biggest Audience Since 1994

And it's not the only TV finale drawing eyeballs this week

Grammy Ratings Hit Decade-Long High

26.6 million tuned in for awards show

Betty White + SNL = Ratings Bonanza

Octogenarian's hosting stint tops Ben Affleck's November 2008 effort

Let the Conan Backlash Begin

Face it, O'Brien's ratings weren't great

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TV Companies Team Up to Take On Nielsen

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OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

television • Time Warner • NBC • Disney • Nielsen • Nielsen Ratings • digital video • TV ratings • viewing habits • television advertising

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

NBC's Ratings Keep Sinking

Viewership down 9.3% from year before

Oprah Finale Draws Biggest Audience Since 1994

And it's not the only TV finale drawing eyeballs this week

Grammy Ratings Hit Decade-Long High

26.6 million tuned in for awards show

Betty White + SNL = Ratings Bonanza

Octogenarian's hosting stint tops Ben Affleck's November 2008 effort

Let the Conan Backlash Begin

Face it, O'Brien's ratings weren't great

About Us

Site

Newser By Users

Community

Site Maps

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More News

What is Newser?