• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, June 15, 2010

Rentrak will begin offering ratings culled from set-top boxes in approximately 17 million homes starting next month. That's when it fully integrates data garnered from satellite provider Dish Network into its system.

The data will power both its national and local-market ratings products as it looks to trump Nielsen with ratings from more homes nationally and provide commercial ratings locally.

While most of the estimated 17 million homes will be served by Dish, data from AT&T U-verse (telco TV) and Charter Communications (cable) will be melded in for the full universe.

Both Rentrak's TV Essentials (national) and StationView Essentials (local) services offer second-by-second data, including commercial ratings, but only at the household level. There are no demographic breakdowns.

Nielsen is dipping its toe into the set-top-box arena, but is pursuing a "hybrid" model that includes data from the boxes mixed with panel-based information, which can provide profiles of individual viewers.

Still, with Nielsen not yet offering commercial ratings in local markets, Rentrak continues to sign stations to receive its StationView product. The latest includes Post-Newsweek, which inked a deal for its Miami ABC affiliate and NBC outlet in Houston. That follows an arrangement with Belo to provide data for its Dallas ABC station.

Post-Newsweek CEO Alan Frank stated that Rentrak data will "enable us to use a basket of currencies to program to our viewers and sell to our advertisers," adding that the service ensures "we have access to the largest and most-detailed audience information available."

Rentrak now serves 25 stations in 13 markets, and says it can provide data for all 210 DMAs.

Its national TV Essentials serves 47 networks, mostly ones not rated by Nielsen. This can allow them some -- presumably less expensive -- ways to gauge viewership for advertisers.

In March, however, Rentrak did sign a deal with the sprawling MTV Networks, which does include some modestly distributed networks, but also a slew of fully distributed ones.

On a conference call to discuss earnings in the January-March period, Rentrak CEO Bill Livek did not offer specifics, but said the company is in discussions as it looks to reach deals with more operators for access to their set-top boxes.

The company's operations that include its ratings services are a growing portion -- near 30% -- of its overall revenues.

Dollars for that group came in at $6.9 million in the period, more than double the $3.3 million in the same time frame a year ago. Some gains can be attributed to an acquisition in the box-office measurement space.