CBS Includes Digital Views In TV Ratings

by Wayne Friedman , September 30, 2015

CBS will become the first network to include digital video viewing of its shows in its traditional TV ratings, according to Nielsen.

Nielsen says this is a result of certifying CBS’ digital video platform CBS All Access for Nielsen’s ‘Digital in TV Ratings’ measurement.

The subscription video-on-demand service started up earlier this year. Nielsen says it will measure viewership of the service’s live offering of local CBS Television stations – available in more than 95 U.S. markets -- across Android and iOS systems as well as desktops and laptops.

With Digital in TV Ratings, Nielsen will report audiences for “ratings-qualified” content -- for computer and mobile devices. It will add this viewing into the current existing C3/C7 average quarter hour TV ratings services.

Digital in TV Ratings is a piece of Nielsen’s Total Audience Measurement, where all video content and advertising can be consistently measured with ratings -- including the likes of non-ad supported viewing from Netflix.

Nielsen says Total Audience Measurement will start up by the end of the year.

Nielsen says the broadcast network’s move is in addition to the existing measurement of current season’s on-demand content through other measurement products and Nielsen Television Index’s measurement of Connected TV viewing.

broadcast networks, digital, media measurement, mobile, tv

3 comments about "CBS Includes Digital Views In TV Ratings".

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Ed Papazian from Media Dynamics Inc, September 30, 2015 at 6:38 p.m.
I believe that CBS is on the right track in this venture but if I were an advertiser, I'd be very concerned about equating a mobile phone "viewer" with an in-home viewer and paying equally for both. I don't believe that "a viewer is a viewer". Some objective research is required to establish comparability between the in-home and digital components as regards viewer attentiveness and ad recall/motivational effects. I suspect that the "value" of a smartphone "viewer" is not the same as an in-home viewer in terms of being actually "reached" by a commercial ---holding demographics constant, of course.
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Marilois Snowman from Mediastruction replied, October 1, 2015 at 10:13 a.m.

Ed, do you believe the timing of this is any coincidence with the Comscore/Rentrak deal?

Ed Papazian from Media Dynamics Inc, October 1, 2015 at 12:08 p.m.

Marilois, I don't think that there is a direct linkage, however I've been hearing a good deal of private talk about the networks wanting to prod Nielsen more aggressively to improve on and add more measurements of so-far, "unmonetized" viewing. That being the case, CBS certainly might use the new comCast/Rentrak service in this endeavor, though I sincerely hope that some proper vadidation will be involved to reconcile the different audience definitions and methodologies.