Nielsen To Start Local TV Impressions Metric Measure In January 2022

by Wayne Friedman , September 21, 2021

Nielsen will transition to impressions-based reporting -- for local U.S. TV station advertising buying and selling -- from older TV ratings measures, starting in January 2022.

This will come at the same time as the integration of broadband-only homes into Nielsen local TV measurement.

Previously, Nielsen said broadband-only (BBO) homes would start up local TV measurement next month: October 2021.

Nielsen says the new timing will enable it to publish an official BBO universe estimate to be audited and reviewed by the Media Rating Council (MRC).

It is important to get BBO homes into its measurement systems to get a fair representation and estimate of local TV impressions, Nielsen says.

Bernie Shimkus,vice president-director of research & consumer insights of Harmelin Media, stated in the Nielsen release that including BBO Homes is key, since the number of BBO homes has tripled from 3% in 2015 to 20% of local TV homes currently.

Versus TV ratings, impressions are a “great equalizer” across all media platforms and screens, according to David Kenny, CEO of Nielsen -- helping to standardize the way advertising is measured across national/local TV and digital media platforms.

These moves will be a “foundation” for the forthcoming Nielsen One cross measurement platform.

Nielsen says that for more than two years, it has been working with the media sellers and buyers to include broadband-only homes in local TV measurement into its 56 LPM (Local People Meter) and set meter markets.

In the release, Nielsen said it had the support of executives from many TV station groups and media agencies, including big TV station group Nexstar Media Group as well as agencies such as Magna Global and Harmelin Media.

Nexstar Media Group says it expects to begin transacting on impressions “exclusively” in early 2022.

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2 comments about "Nielsen To Start Local TV Impressions Metric Measure In January 2022".

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Ed Papazian from Media Dynamics Inc, September 21, 2021 at 10:04 a.m.
Wayne, it's simply a trade-off which will make Nielsen's station clients happy as a salve against including BB - only homes which are normally light TV users. So the stations "gain" a little with "impressions"---which is not a measurement but a projection of GRP findings when GRPs are carried out to decimal points, not rounded off to a whole percent. And the stations will lose a little as light viewing BB-only homes become part of the rating usiverse---as they should be.

As for "impressions" being a great "equalizer" across platforms, that's nonsense. How does one compare a national TV "impression"---based on average commercil minute "audience" when viewers who zapped the ads are deleted with local market average quarter hour TV "impressions" ---- not to be confused with commercial minute----which do not delete audiences who zap commercials. And then we have digital "page views"---meaning that the ad message appeared on-screen for two or more seconds for a video message---if the IAB's definition of "exposure" is used. Is that the same as local market or national TV "impressions"? I think not.
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John Grono from GAP Research, September 21, 2021 at 8:16 p.m.

There needs to be a series of protocols as to which media metrics can be 'co-mingled' and which can't.

For example, impressions and audience can't be co-mingled. It would be akin to having $1 USD, and two trillion (2,000,000,000,000) Venuzuelan Bolivars, putting them together you mathematically have 2,000,000,000,001 ... but in reality you only have $2 USD.