• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, September 19, 2019

Further bridging the divide between old and new media challenges, Nielsen just expanded the measurement reach of its Social Content Ratings (SRC) service.

SCR can now measure talent’s promotion of TV programs across Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, according to the measurement firm.

Networks are increasingly relying on talent and their social-media accounts to promote TV shows -- and Nielsen has the data to prove it.

Indeed, according to Nielsen’s existing SCR data, more than 6,000 talent accounts published more than 164,000 pieces of social content for the 2018 TV season, which drove more than 170 million engagements.

In addition, talent is now driving nearly 60% of all social engagement for TV programs -- which is more than network and program accounts combined -- according to Nielsen.

With the expansion, Nielsen is shining a light on what has been a poorly understood relationship between talent’s social-media activity and TV viewership.

“The true impact talent has on the social engagement around TV shows has always been a big blind spot,” stated Sean Casey, president of Nielsen Social.  

“The challenge for us was crafting a methodology and technology that could determine the program relevance of talents’ social posts at scale for the tens of thousands of actors across thousands of TV shows,” according to Casey.

The effort has also required developing strong relationships with social leaders, like Twitter and Facebook, Casey said.