Steve Hasker, president, Nielsen Media Products & Advertiser Solutions
Nielsen and Kantar Media announced a multi-year agreement providing Nielsen with set top box data from Kantar Medias DIRECTView service for use in local TV audience measurement.Nielsen has developed a proprietary, hybrid methodology for the US market that combines Nielsens National People Meter panel data with set top box and other sources of data, and is continuing to explore the use of this methodology in local markets that currently rely on diary-based measurement.DIRECTView is one of many sources of data that Nielsen is incorporating in its efforts to provide higher quality local TV audience measurement. Our innovative approach to enhance local TV measurement addresses the technological limitations of using set top box data alone, and we expect it will provide valuable benefits to local TV markets, said Steve Hasker, president, Nielsen Media Products & Advertiser Solutions.The integration of our DIRECTView data with Nielsens local market data marks an important milestone for return path data. The sample size and granularity made possible through return path data advances what audience measurement has traditionally been able to deliver and will help offer advertisers in local markets an improved service, says George Shababb, president, Kantar Media Audiences North America.Nielsen selected Kantar Medias DIRECTView service because it is one of the largest set top box services in the United States that anonymously covers live and time-shifted viewing.
