• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, May 2, 2011

Rentrak, the first aggregator of digital set-top TV audience data to integrate with Madison Avenue media processing giant Donovan Data Systems, this morning announced a similar deal with another major "back-office" agency systems provider, Comcast-owned Strata.

The deal is another important step toward making digital set-top TV audience data a practical alternative to Nielsen's conventional panel-based ratings, because it enables agencies using's Strata's software and systems to seamlessly plan, buy and post TV advertising buys via set-top audience estimates.

The development is particularly important for TV networks that are not currently measured by Nielsen, mainly because their audience estimates are too small to be statistically meaningful in Nielsen's panel-based measurement system, but which in aggregate, represents a significant share of the TV universe.

Industry experts estimate there are upwards of 100 networks whose audiences currently are too small to be measured by Nielsen's national TV ratings panel. Those so-called "long-tail" networks, in aggregate, are estimated to represent about 7% of total national viewing.

While small in total numbers, many of those networks represent the kind of highly targeted audiences that many advertisers and brands actually want to reach.

In February, Rentrak announced a similar deal with Donovan, the leading provider of data processing systems for ad agencies. During MEDIA magazine's recent Outfront Conference in New York, Donovan executives indicated they are working to integrate other major set-top data providers, such as TRA Analytics, WPP's Kantar unit, and TiVo, as well as other important providers to audience-based TV buying systems, including Simulmedia, Google TV Ads, and Microsoft's Admira.

At least three major agencies - Havas' MPG, Aegis' Carat, and Omnicom's OMD - have indicated they plan to utilize Rentrak data to plan and buy networks unmeasured by Nielsen.

Rentrak's integration with Strata is important, because it gives more agencies access to the data directly in their management systems.