• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, December 18, 2012

Asked by a securities analyst how Nielsen and Aribtron would integrate their respective “cross-platform” services, Nielsen Chief David Calhoun said, “There’s nothing to integrate. The cross-platform discussion gets quite confused. There’s really no cleint I know that is looking for radio/TV cross-platform integration.”

Um, what about ESPN, which commissioned Arbitron and comScore to develop a cross-platform measurement service covering five media, including radio?

“The real value to this project from a media buying perspective is that the way consumers are using media will now be reflected in the way advertisers can invest in media,” Ed Erhardt, president of ESPN Global Customer Marketing and Sales stated when that deal was announced. “Making the measurement more complete makes the advertising more effective, which is a win for all parties involved.”

That service, ironically, is being headed by Manish Bhatia at Arbitron, or previously was Nielsen’s top digital researcher.