• by David Goetzl , June 26, 2008

NBC said Wednesday it would release traffic data for the online streams of its full episodes available on NBC.com, including demographic segmentation. The figures will come after the June data is finalized.

The data, which will be "show-specific," comes via Nielsen's VideoCensus. NBC says this is an example of its willingness to "deliver transparent metrics" that can help advertisers improve their channel-planning initiatives. Part and parcel, of course, is NBC's belief that the data will lead to marketers shifting more dollars its way.

CPMs for ads in online streaming can be higher than on-air, but NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker recently lamented that dollars have not followed the increasing online consumption.

NBC.com offers full episodes of hits such as "The Office" and "Heroes," and library content such as the "A-Team."

The announcement, although not necessarily timed to do so, came while the Advertising Research Foundation held its New York measurement conference.

"The digital entertainment business is maturing and part of the natural evolution is the ability to provide accurate measurement to our clients," said Vivi Zigler, head of NBC Digital Entertainment. "We especially like the transparency of the VideoCensus methodology because we know exactly what is being measured."

One of the long-held promises of online advertising is the potential to obtain absolute traffic data--something that remains elusive with the company's TV business. Still, it remains questionable how on-target Nielsen's data will be as far as demo breakdowns. The number of streams is one thing, but who exactly is watching is harder to determine.

Peter Naylor, SVP in digital media sales at NBC, said that "show-level data is something that advertisers have been asking for." He said NBCU "is confident the numbers we're releasing" via Nielsen are "accurate" and provide evidence of "dramatic engagement" that online streaming provides.

NBC says its efforts to offer advertisers more actionable data also include a partnership with IAG and others with Nielsen.