nielsen appendix g: audience measurement firms 437 appendix g: audience measurement firms...

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Appendix G:

Audience

Measurement Firms

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• Nielsen is the authority for

TV ratings

• Arbitron for radio

•Nielsen/Net Ratings for web

site traffic

O’Leary, Mick, “Web Measures Wrestle with Methodologies, Each

Other”, Online Magazine, Vol. 23, May 1999, pp. 105-106.

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Nielsen

• In 1996 AC Nielsen spun-off

from Dun & Bradstreet to

become an independent public

company.

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• In 1998, Nielsen Media Research

(NMR) spun-off from AC

Nielsen, which does:

–consumers product market

research

• Since 1999 and 2001, both AC

Nielsen and NMR are owned by

VNU, major Dutch publisher.

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Nielsen Products

• “Overnights”

–25 major cities

–only rate 4 networks

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Nielsen Products

• “Pocketpieces”

–every other week

–5,000 national peoplemeter households (HHs)

–available online

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• Local measurement:

–211 designated market areas (DMAs)

–participants fill out viewing diaries for one week

• For local stations Nielsen “sweeps” months (November, February, May and July)

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• Advertising rates are based on

local stations’ ratings during

these months.

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• The stations therefore demand that the networks display their most popular programs during sweeps to attract the largest possible audiences.–specials–hit movies–celebrity guests

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• On the local level, Arbitron

competes with Nielsen

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TV Measurement

Companies• There are companies all over the world that measure TV audiences.

• Examples: Audimetrie SA (Belgium), Barb (Great Britain), MMI (Norway).

“Sites of TV Audience Measurements.” European Audiovisual Observatory. August 2001.

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Other Ratings Firms: AGB• Owned by Robert Maxwell, now Italian-owned• Audience measurement in many countries• Incl.–UK, Italy, Mexico, Australia, Poland

• 1st national people meter system

–(Italy, 1981)

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Country Service

Panel

Size

(Hh)Austria TELETEST 1,200

Belgium N.V. Audimetrie S.A. 750

Czech Rep TN AGB AF 660

France Mediametrie 2,300

Germany GfK 5,200

Greece AGB Hellas 700

Hungary AGB Hungary 840

Ireland A.C. Nielsen 600

Italy Auditel - AGB Italia 5,000

Netherlands Intomart BV 1,000

Poland AGB Polska 1,285

Spain Sofres A.M. 2,800

Switzerland IHA 1,650

Turkey AGB Anadolu 1,630

UK Barb 4,485

USA Nielsen 5,073

Electronic Audience Measurement

in other countries

Source: IP

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People Meters: France

• Two TV rating companies: Mediametrie and Telemetric.

• 1989, Telemetric created Motivac: a passive meter with a motion sensor to detect people.

• Revealed that many viewers disregard commercials

Erik Larson, “Watching Americans Watch TV,” The Atlantic Monthly,

March 1992

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• Showed that the high ratings of

French news shows were

deceptive. Viewers just

watched headlines, and then

resumed other activities while

the TV remained on.

Erik Larson, “Watching Americans Watch TV,” The Atlantic Monthly,

March 1992

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As German first market research

institute, GfK Group covers the

market research topics such as

custom, retail, media and

technology

http://www.gfk.com/

German audience research

organizations

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MEDIEN DATEN SUEDWEST

covers classical media (sound

broadcast, television and press) and

new media (multimedia, Internet,

and digital broadcast)

http://www.mediendaten.de


organizations

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• TNS Emnid

http://www.tns-

emnid.com/index.htm

• Result

http://www.result.de/html/medienf

orschung.html


organizations

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Radio

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Radio Audience Information

• Arbitron

– Arbitron covers 260 local

radio markets with one to

four ratings reports per

year.

–Diary-based

George E. Belch & Michael A. Belch, “Advertising and Promotion: An Integrated Marketing Communications

Perspective,” Fourth Edition, 1998, Irwin/McGraw-Hill

radiosquare.com/ arbitron2.html

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Radio Audience Information

• Radar

–Another rating service is Statistical Research Inc.’s RADAR (Radio’s All-Dimension Audience Research) studies, which are sponsored by the major radio networks

George E. Belch & Michael A. Belch, “Advertising and Promotion: An Integrated Marketing Communications


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Radio Audience Information• Other Ratings Services:

–Symmetric Resources with

its MATRIX (Marketing and

Target Ratings Index) report

for 200 smaller markets.

–Strategic Radio Research’s

AccuRatingsGeorge E. Belch & Michael A. Belch, “Advertising and Promotion: An Integrated Marketing Communications


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Arbitron’s Radio Audience Research Methodology

• Diaries kept by listeners in 263 local markets.

• 5 mil calls to locate potential “diary keepers”

http://www.andrewhyner.com/radio2.htm

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Arbitron’s Radio Audience Research Methodology

• 2.6 mil surveys

mailed per year

• Cash premium and

letter on return of

diary.

http://www.andrewhyner.com/radio2.htm

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Arbitron Radio Survey

• Strengths

–Longitudinal body of

information based on

consistent survey

methodology since 1949.

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Arbitron Radio Survey

•Weaknesses

–under-report high-income households

–Slow

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Advanced Method to Track Radio Songs and Play of

Ads:Broadcast Data Systems(BDS)

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• Nielsen BDS launched in the U.S. in 1989

–tracks airplay of recordings by radio stations, including by format and provide access to stations' play list.

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• Surveys stations (~ 1,100

major stations in 128

markets) by computerized

radio scanners, and music is

computer-matched

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• recognizes “fingerprints” of songs submitted to BDS (~400,000)

• Play frequencies are then combined with Arbitron audience estimates of a station at time of day, for information on actual audiences for ads and frequency of exposure.

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• BDS can then estimate

audiences for a given title or

advertisement in each market

• Provides 4 types of “Airplay

Monitor” reports

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• Nielsen BDS has over 100

million song detections

annually on more than

1,200 radio stations in over

150 markets in the U.S. and

Canada

- Nielsen Broadcast Data

Systems

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• Billboard Airplay Monitor

(Radio industry magazine, part

of the Billboard family), and

Canadian Music Network

magazines utilize Nielsen BDS

information for calculating

their radio airplay music

charts.

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Public Radio Audience

Research• In 1936, the

British

Broadcasting

Corporation,

created a Listener

Research UnitAlan G. Stavitsky, “Guys in Suits with Charts: Audience Research in

U.S. Public Radio,” Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media,

Spring 1995, pp/ 1-14

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U.S. Public Radio

Alan G. Stavitsky, “Guys in Suits with Charts: Audience Research in


Spring 1995, pp/ 1-14

•Initially, less cancellation with audiences in US Public Radio

•1980: “Research Revolution”

• Audience research accepted as an “essential management function.”

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Audience Research• Change in the “the fiscal realities of non-commercial media.”

• External forces (e.g. tax-based funding uncertainties) forced public stations to focus more on the audience



Spring 1995, pp/ 1-14

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Critiques of Public Radio

Audience Research

• Radio is to maximize intellectual and moral growth, passion and pleasure



Spring 1995, pp/ 1-14

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Techniques for International

Radio Audience Estimation:• Extrapolating radio audience from responses to “giveaways”

–extrapolate listeners based on how many people call in or write

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–Extrapolate from listeners

letters

–On-air surveys

• Issue for international short

wave radio (BBC, VOA)

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BARB

(Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board)

Measurement System• 5,000 homes to represent the whole UK

population.

• Competitor: AGB, now in JV with

Nielsen called AGB Nielsen Media

Research, in 28 countries, especially UK

Walley, Nigel, “Changing strategies to make TV accountable.” New Media Age,

p15-15, 9/2/2004.

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Today subsidiary of Experian

Company Simmons Market Research

Bureau (SMRB)

• Simmons Statistical-Modeling

techniques

–The premise: behavioral-based

segmentation systems are the

strongest predictors of other

consumer behaviors.

All information from www.smrb.com.

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Simmons

–TV BehaviorGraphicsTM claims to be a more powerful predictor of television viewing and product usage behavior than demographics.

–Merges Nielsen ratings with Simmons consumer behavior data

All information from www.smrb.com.

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China

• CSM Media Research is China's

leading TV audience

measurement company

• AGB Nielsen Media Research, a

European rival.

Dickie, Mure, “CSM shrugs off rival Nielsen's China expansion,” Financial Times (London,

England), COMPANIES INTERNATIONAL; Pg. 29, June 19, 2006 Monday.

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Internet

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The Nielsen of the Internet

• Battle to become the Nielsen of the internet

• Several measurement providers with main ones comScore and NetRatings.

Roberts, Johnnie. “How to Count Eyeballs on the Web.” MSNBC.com. 27 November 2006. Newsweek.

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Who is Tracking Internet

Audiences?• The two main companies are Nielsen/Net Ratings and Media Metrix.

• Each have about 50,000 people being tracked and are now international.

Appelman, Hilary. “Ratings That Know What You’re Looking At, and When.”

NYTimes.com. 7 June 2000. Last accessed on 18 June 2007 at

http://partners.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/06/biztech/technology/07appe.html.

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Who is Tracking Internet

Audiences?• Other companies are PC Data, NetValue (France and the US starting in April 2000), advertising/marketing networks DoubleClick and MatchLogic.




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Privacy Concerns?

• These have been expressed against companies like DoubleClick that operate without people knowledge.

• Nielsen/Net Ratings and Media Metrix do not do this.




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Nielsen/Net Ratings

• Will track certain sites based on requests.

• Data used for internet marketing, competitive analysis, and online advertising.

Nielsen/Net Ratings. Last accessed on 18 June 2007 at http://www.nielsen-

netratings.com/.

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Media Metrix

• A part of comScore.

• Monitors tons of websites and claim to measure 101 U.S. local markets.

• Audience research in 12 different countries.

ComScore Media Metrix. Last accessed on 18 June 2007 at

http://www.comscore.com/metrix/.

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• Appendix H:

Behavioral Economics

• No duplicated slides.

nielsen appendix g: audience measurement firms 437 appendix g: audience measurement firms...

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