• by Masha Geller , April 2, 2003

NetRatings, Inc. announced yesterday that it has reached an agreement with Univision Online, Inc., one of the most-visited Spanish-language websites in the U.S., to build the industry's first media quality Internet audience measurement panel to better understand Hispanic consumer behavior online. The agreement between NetRatings and Univision will span a five-year period.

According to company officials, the agreement should result in the market's first representative Hispanic Internet audience panel generated by industry accepted random digital dial (RDD) methodology. NetRatings plans to deploy its patented Internet measurement technology to a representative panel of 3,600 Hispanic individuals, providing unparalleled insight into Hispanic user behavior online. The Hispanic sample will be folded into the current Nielsen//NetRatings panel, "reflecting a true representation of the entire U.S. Internet universe," NetRatings said in an announcement.

Ceril Shagrin, senior vice president of corporate research at Univision, said, "Reliable, projectable estimates of Internet use by Hispanics requires a sample which properly represents the Hispanic Internet universe. The more accurate Nielsen//NetRatings numbers will bring credibility to our selling process and enable our industry to flourish."

"We are excited to be setting the standard for the Hispanic Internet media market," said William Pulver, president and CEO, NetRatings. "The support from Univision reinforces our belief that this market has great growth potential and that quality research is critical to their success."

The service is expected to launch in the fourth quarter of 2003.