• by Erik Sass , March 14, 2008

Zenith Media will get Nielsen measurements of video viewing across a variety of platforms, including Internet, mobile devices and out-of-home, in a deal announced Thursday. The deal marks the first subscription to Nielsen's Out-of-Home Report, produced jointly by Nielsen and Integrated Media Measurement and set to launch this April. It is part of Nielsen's broader "Anytime Anywhere Media Measurement" initiative. Zenith says it will use the "three screens" data in advertising planning and ROI measurement.

The Out-of-Home Report measures video viewing with IMMI panels composed of individuals who carry specially modified cell phones that detect digital video signals. At launch, the national service includes six 500-person panels established by IMMI in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, Houston and Denver, for a total of 3,000 local participants, plus another 1,700 panelists around the country to round out the national picture.

The Out-of-Home Report will provide program, time-period and market break reports.

The Internet component is covered by Nielsen Online VideoCensus, which combines panel and census methods to measure audiences with extensive demographic detail. Essentially, it uses data from a smaller Internet/TV Convergence panel to marry data from its larger national TV and Internet panels with statistical techniques.

Finally, Nielsen Mobile will handle mobile video viewing; the division's capabilities got a boost with the acquisition of Telephia in June 2007.