• by Wayne Friedman , July 15, 2008

Season finales of ABC network shows helped the network's Internet video player's online viewing activity soar over 50% in May versus the previous month. But traditional media agency executives say more research is needed for comparison to traditional TV airings.

ABC says 815 million minutes of full-length episodes were viewed, powered by season finales of series such as "Lost," "Grey's Anatomy," "Desperate Housewives" and "Ugly Betty"--representing a 110% gain over a year ago. The network says some 37 million viewers watched episodes in May, a 27% gain over a year ago.

But media analysts say there is still a long way to go for media companies in offering more specific and consistent viewing research data, especially when it comes to advertisers' all-important demographics.

"When you take numbers from competing services--such as Nielsen//NetRatings and comScore--it's not even close," says one media agency executive. "We question what the real numbers are."

Media agency executives would also like to see average minute ratings--especially as a comparison for traditional TV shows, which is how those programs are measured and bought by advertisers. In publishing just total minutes viewed, analysts say networks do not reveal whether viewers just start programs and abandon shows soon after.

"As advertisers, we are interested in average number of viewers at a given moment seeing our commercials," says the executive.

CBS has been giving media buyers the number of simultaneous viewing streams for its NCAA basketball tournament in March. Because live sports events are rarely taped, the buyer says it gives advertisers a close comparison to traditional live viewing on television.