• How Accurate Are Those Ratings? It's Easy to Find Out
    I was one of the founding members of The Council for Research Excellence (CRE), a group of 40 top industry researchers from major Nielsen clients. As part of its Media Consumption and Engagement Committee, I helped spearhead the landmark "Video Consumer Mapping Study," which still stands as the best original research into consumer media habits that I've ever seen.
  • Can Nielsen Really Measure My 17-Year-Old's Media Experiences?
    Watching my son's interaction with both media devices and content makes me wonder more and more whether a company like Nielsen (or any single entity) can fully measure his media exposure, engagement, and advertising awareness. Heck, I'm not even sure they can accurately measure my media experiences.
  • New Series Report Cards
    The prime-time TV season has been underway long enough to give us a good handle on how each new show is performing. The following series receive a grade of B or higher. The dramas have one thing in common: There is nothing else like them on television.
  • It's Time To Scrap C3 And Bring Back Program Ratings
    C3 ratings for most network and prime-time programs are higher than their live program ratings. Let's think about that for a second. Half the country doesn't even have a DVR, yet Nielsen reports that more people watch just the commercial minutes (over three days) of a typical series, than watch the actual program at the time it is broadcast. This is so ridiculous on its face that the industry should stand up as one and scream WTF!
  • Why Netflix Is Still The Best Thing Ever
    Five years ago, I had just subscribed to NetfIix and wrote an article for MediaPost explaining why I thought it was the best thing ever. Spending an extraordinary amount of money on programming, reportedly $5 billion in 2015 and $6 billion in 2016, has helped Netflix become in five short years everything I expected and more. While it raised its price from $8 to $10 per month, the difference in my monthly credit card bill was not noticeable, and did not make me even think about canceling the service.
To read more articles use the ARCHIVE function on this page.