• by Wayne Friedman , David Goetzl , April 13, 2007

Nielsen chief Susan Whiting Thursday demonstrated that she either has an incredible poker face, or that she is not in touch with what her own communications department is up to. Asked what Nielsen's plans were for measuring TV out-of-the home during a question and answer session at the Television Bureau of Advertising conference in New York, Whiting demurred, giving no indication that her press and client communications teams were a couple of hours away from announcing a plan to launch a new TV out-of-home TV audience measurement service in September.

Instead, Whiting - who was not quoted in the press release and has been battling bronchitis - mentioned Nielsen's ongoing development of "go meters," tests of iPod use and its January launch of college ratings. She touted college ratings as "a significant step" in getting a handle on out-of-home performance, but didn't touch on Thursday's announcement, despite the potential to pleasantly surprise the room full of TV executives.

College ratings arguably are not a true barometer of out-of-home viewing on campuses since they don't track communal viewing taking place in common rooms in dorms or student unions, for example. Technically "extended home" ratings, they simply monitor viewing of a student who is already part of a Nielsen household, but living away at school and using a TV in his or her room.

As for Nielsen's new out-of-home measurement service, it will be a joint venture with San Mateo, Calif.-based Integrated Media Measurement Inc., the developer of an integrated media measurement out-of-home system. The venture will offer a national service, as well as local versions in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, Houston and Denver tracking TV viewing in offices, fitness clubs, hotels, bars and other places.

The six local services will each have a research panel of approximately 500 people, or a total of 3,000 participants. The national panel will incorporate those of the local sample--having, according to Nielsen, an effective sample size of approximately 2,500 panelists.

Nielsen will secure the out-of-home data by having those in the sample carry mobile phones, which include metering technology developed by IMMI. The phones will collect passive digital "signatures" from television telecasts, and will be matched with audio signatures collected by IMMI from actual telecasts.