Nielsen Co. today is expected to unveil plans for a new digital rights management system that would help content owners monitor the distribution and use of their video content on the Web. The service,
dubbed Digital Media Manager, has been developed in partnership with Digimarc, which owns patents on the "digital watermarking" of video content, according to a report in today's
Wall Street
Journal. The move comes as other players, including Medialink's Teletrax service, have been developing digital video tracking services, and as content rights holders are trying to find better
means of monitoring and policing the illegal and/or illicit use of their intellectual property across the Web and on other digital media platforms. Nielsen has a long history of media content
monitoring, though historically, it has been mainly for tracking and verifying advertising occurrences (ie. Monitor-Plus, Audio Audit, etc.), or the lineup of stations in network and syndicated
program distribution.
