The Media Rating Council has renewed its accreditation of Nielsen’s National Committee ratings measurement and approved the incorporation of Nielsen’s own live streaming data.
The company noted that the vote of confidence by the MRC makes it “the first certified live streaming solution with person-level detail” and “enhances all streaming measurement going forward.”
“We are delighted and honored to receive MRC’s self-approval. Karthik Rao, CEO of Nielsen, said in a statement: “It’s a great validation of Nielsen’s ability to innovate at the speed of the market, while doing so in a safe and verifiable way.” “With proven methodologies like our team of certified people and precise new solutions for the streaming era, we believe Nielsen is right where the industry wants us to be: At the convergence of all the ways people watch content. “This will give the industry real insight into linear and streaming viewing like never before.”
MRC’s renewal and approval comes at a time when Nielsen has dominated media measurement for the better part of a century. Advertisers rely heavily on their data, which includes Streaming Top 10 and The Gauge, to help determine their commercial spend as audiences shift from linear TV to streaming.
But TV networks have complained that the company is not properly measuring viewership amid the transition from linear to streaming channels. In 2021, the MRC found that the company had failed to count the number of spectators during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to the temporary suspension of its accreditation.
Paramount Global, which is in the midst of a contract pricing dispute with Nielsen, has shifted advertiser campaigns to VideoAmp while the two sides continue to negotiate. But they have signaled that they are also prepared to make the change permanent, something some experts have said is easier said than done.
Over the past six months, Nielsen has launched new capabilities to expand its measurement around out-of-home viewing and audiences. Currently, its data covers 45 million homes and 75 million devices in the U.S. alone. Amazon notably utilized Nielsen’s big data dashboard measurement tools for its “Thursday Night Football” ratings.
A Nielsen spokesperson previously told TheWrap that it is “way ahead” of others in measuring streaming and cross-device viewing and that it has “the most representative sample of people” and “more direct integration with major media platforms than anyone else.” The company has agreements with all the other legacy media companies.
VideoAmp, not accredited by the MRC, is certified by the Joint Industry Committee, which represents advertisers, agencies, and media owners. Other ratings measurement competitors include Comscore and iSpot.tv, both of which are MRC-accredited.
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