asiCast 133: Nielsen moves US TV towards spot ratings

Posted by asi on 16th December 2021

Nielsen recently announced a move from average ad break ratings to actual spot ratings. In this interview with Kimberly Gilberti, SVP Product Manager at Nielsen, our Research Director, Richard Marks, asks how broadcast TV ratings are calculated in the US currently and what exactly does this change involve? Many countries, including those with TAM services operated by Nielsen, have already been using spot ratings for a while. What has been preventing this in the US until now?

The discussion recognises that the move to spot ratings will make comparisons with online video ads easier. Now that the ANA is investigating options for cross-media measurement in the US , in response to the WFA’s global North Star, how does Nielsen One fit into this picture? Does this represent a potential building block for cross-media measurement?

Focusing specifically on TV ratings, the MRC recently withheld accreditation for the TV ratings service following some panel balance issues related to the pandemic. Richard asks Kimberly to outline the problems and how they have been addressed.

With NBCU issuing a tender for audience measurement and claiming to have received over 100 submissions, how does the Nielsen ratings service fit into that initiative?

Kimberly Gilberti talks with Richard Marks: