In a move designed to provide programming clients comparative viewing intelligence in a fast-changing TV market, Nielsen Media Research announced plans for a new service to measure nationally shown video on demand (VoD) content using the same national sample it uses to provide television ratings to national programmers.
As with Nielsen's current ratings, clients will receive household and demographic ratings for VoD content along with other detailed audience information. The new service, which requires programmers to install proprietary tracking software, will launch on Dec. 11.
The planned service is but the latest evidence of the ratings company’s ongoing efforts to provide more intelligence on video use to its customers, with two other major announcements in the last six weeks.
Nielsen and NetRatings Inc. recently announced the launch of their National TV/Internet Fusion database. This product combines information from television and Internet panels into a single dataset and allows TV programmers and advertisers to study and capitalize on the relationship between TV and Internet use. Nielsen also has detailed plans for a video game rating service due out next year.
By measuring VoD content in its national ratings panel, Nielsen claims it 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 demand.
Nielsen claims will be able 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 says it has developed the encoding tools to uniquely "watermark" VoD content using audio codes, so that its newly deployed Active/Passive meter can accurately identify on-demand viewing sessions.
Nielsen's launch of VoD measurement covers all types of VoD programming, including titles from the libraries of content providers and recently telecast programs shown again via VoD.
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. That programming, however, is a subset of overall on demand content.
“Because video on demand 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, senior vice president of Nielsen. He claimed clients told his company last year that VoD measurement was a major priority for them. Nielsen did not identify any of these clients, or any firms whom have agreed to use the service and software package.
Nielsen's new watermarking process involves new software that embeds content identification information in the audio of the VoD program. This software has been tested successfully by a number of clients over the course of several months and now is ready for use.
Once a client installs the watermarking software, Nielsen says it can identify the programs it wishes to track through the VoD process, and the VoD programs viewed in sample households can be credited accordingly.
Nielsen did not identify the companies that helped it create the watermarking software, a prerequisite for the service, nor did it say if it charges programmers for the code. Watermarking technology and products also pre-date Nielsen’s involvement on VoD ratings.
Net Ratings Inc. www.nielsen-netratings.com
Nielsen Media Research www.nielsenmedia.com
