• Chicago Tribune, Monday, November 28, 2005 11:30 AM

Citing the recent turbulence in the TV universe, what with more and more programs becoming available in various free and inexpensive on-demand formats, the Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan says, "Don't weep for Nielsen Media Research just yet." Ratings still matter, she says, and Nielsen "already has plans in the works to count viewers who watch prime-time programs via DVRs.... And soon enough, no doubt, Nielsen or some other company will be able to give media companies daily snapshots of who watched or bought what in a variety of mediums: On TV in real time, via DVRs, via on-demand platforms, via their computers or gaming devices, etc." Industry sources who spoke to the Tribune point to a future world in which more programming will indeed be available, but not for free. Eventually, those who deliver content will want to be paid a fair price for it--which, for the consumer, means digging ever deeper into the wallet. Also, reports Ryan, it's only a matter of time before a hit series--one with truly network-TV-like numbers--gets started on an off-network platform. But such a show is likely to emerge from a small shop or someone in the general population, not a conventional content producer.

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