Nielsen Begins Metering Online Usage In TV Households

Nielsen Media Research has quietly begun installing Internet tracking software on the home computers of people in its TV ratings households, marking the first step in the development of a so-called "integration panel" measuring both traditional TV-based and online video content.

"To date we have installed and are receiving Internet data from more than 20 homes," Nielsen CEO Susan Whiting said in a letter sent to clients Tuesday updating them on developments related to Nielsen's so-called A2/M2 (Anytime/Anywhere) measurement initiative, which will expand Nielsen's tracking of video content outside the home, on to the Internet, into public places and on a variety of mobile devices.

Whiting reaffirmed parent VNU's commitment to the initiative, which is expected to be one of the costliest research and development programs in the company's history, despite a corporate-wide reorganization and a 4,100-person workforce reduction.

The integration of TV and online audience measurement is a key component of that plan, and the deployment of Internet software "meters" in Nielsen's people meter households is a first step, said Whiting, adding that Nielsen plans to have the software installed on the computers of people meter households on its first two "test cells" by mid-February. She did not disclose how many households would be included in those test cells, or when they would begin producing useable data for advertisers, agencies and media outlets, but she did say that Nielsen has been learning "a good deal about recruiting households for Internet measurement."

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Nielsen has said it would collaborate with its sister operations at online audience measurement firm Nielsen//NetRatings on the initiative, but it was unclear if it is Nielsen's or NetRatings' field force that has been handling the installations. Nielsen separately began offering so-called "fusion" research integrating Nielsen's TV ratings with NetRatings' online audience ratings, but it is unclear how well that product has been embraced by Nielsen's customers.

Nielsen has also accelerated its tracking of portable video devices, including iPods and other video-capable MP3 players as part of its plan to measure mobile video usage. Whiting said Nielsen has added "a number of questions" about portable devices to its quarterly Home Technology Report, and that initial findings based on the third quarter of 2006 indicate that 27% of U.S. households had an MP3 player, and that 7% had a video-capable MP3 player. She said households with children age 12 to 17 were, "nearly 2 ½ times more likely to own or rent an MP3 player than the total U.S."

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