New system, which will start Dec. 11, is the latest step by ratings firm to get better picture of viewing habits
NEW YORK (Reuters) — Television ratings giant Nielsen Media Research said Thursday it plans to launch a system to measure viewership of so-called video-on-demand programming, which U.S. audiences can watch at their leisure through cable and satellite TV services.
The system, to begin Dec. 11, could give a boost to the future of advertising support for VOD, also known as on-demand programming, by providing an objective basis for the buying and selling of commercial time within VOD content.
It also will give broadcasters a clearer picture of what impact VOD is having on traditional television viewing habits.
On-demand viewing – enabling audiences to order up shows when they feel like watching instead of according to a preset broadcast schedule – has been commonplace on pay-cable networks for some time.
But VOD has recently expanded as major networks began offering access to their prime-time offerings on a next-day, on-demand basis through distribution pacts with cable operators like Comcast Corp. and satellite broadcasters such as DirecTV Group, which is controlled by News Corp.
Programs to be measured by Nielsen’s new service will also include on-demand viewing of older programs and movies from the libraries of content providers.
Nielsen said it will use the same National People Meter electronic survey it uses for traditional ratings when it launches its VOD service next month, providing its clients with household and demographic data for VOD audiences.
The new Nielsen service will not measure on-demand viewing of TV programs “streamed” over the Internet or downloaded to personal computers, mobile phones or other hand-held digital devices, Nielsen spokesman Gary Holmes said.
Holmes said the new system also would not cover programming that individual viewers store and play back for themselves on digital video recorders (DVRs), such as the popular set-top devices made by TiVo Inc.
Nielsen said it will only be able to provide VOD reporting to clients who implement “watermarking,” or special audio code, technology that identifies specific on-demand titles.
The new VOD system is the latest in a series of steps Nielsen has taken to quantify new advertising opportunities as the TV industry shakes up its “old media” business models.
Last month, Nielsen announced it would launch new ratings systems for video games and for viewership of TV commercials, though introduction of the latter was subsequently delayed to allow networks to address perceived flaws in that system.
Nielsen, a unit of media and market research company VNU, has been measuring TV audiences since the 1949-50 broadcast season.
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