• by Joe Mandese , August 10, 2010

The Media Rating Council (MRC), NCC Media and a broad coalition of cable, satellite and telco-based subscription TV providers this morning announced plans to develop guidelines for the creation of consistent digital video viewership data. The organizers said the objective of the coalition is to "foster consistency and enable accumulation of this data" across the TV service providers.  Among other things, the initiative plans to develop "best practices" surrounding terms, definitions and calculations for accumulating digital viewership data.

The guidelines will include specific recommendations for data processing procedures, which will cover data-capture, editing and reporting as well as guidance for privacy and security safeguards and appropriate consumer notice and communication.

Once the guidelines are drafted, the MRC will seek input from the broader media industry, including programmers, content providers, advertisers and their agencies, media researchers and consumer advocates, to facilitate the discussion and seek consensus among the participants.