Nielsen will discontinue collecting and reporting data on the remote control ownership of households in its metered panels, effective Dec. 31. Nielsen cited the fact that remote control penetration is
now at 96% of U.S. of its national sample and that most new television sets automatically come equipped with a remote control device. "Therefore reporting this household characteristic in our reports
and systems is not as relevant as when this technology was first introduced," Nielsen said in a notice sent to clients on Tuesday. "Not reporting on remote control will enable us to report on another,
more relevant technology in the future."
