ARF Calls For Action To Save Ad-Supported Media, Doesn't Say What It Is

1. M Cohen from marshall cohen associates, September 15, 2021 at 11:44 a.m.

   Crossroads, tipping point, whatever. There has never been this level of criticism over the Nielsen TV ratings. The amount of disruption in media measurement is staggering. 

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Ed Papazian from Media Dynamics Inc, September 15, 2021 at 11:47 a.m.
That's  a very dramatic lead, Joe.  But to think that the future of ad-supported media is at stake because of a slight "undercount"of "linear TV" viewing by adults aged 18-49 in 2020 by Nielsen or that this so because Nielsen has not yet fully implemented a panel---or collection of panels----that tells us exactly which digital devices are in use and which services and shows are being streamed is something of a leap into space. Is Facebook about to lose all of its millions of mostly mom and pop regional/ local advertisers because of this? Are the broadcast TV networks doomed? What about radio and magazines or OOH? Will they, too, lose all---or most of their ad revenues?  Or are we really only concerned about TV ---"linear" or streaming---plus digital video? Here, the specs for an ideal TV rating service are all too obvious. Measure all device usage in all locations, make panelists indicate whether they are watching the shows whenever selected, include a measurement of second by second attentiveness for all devices in all locations. That's about it, folks.
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Joe Mandese from MediaPost Inc. replied, September 15, 2021 at 11:47 a.m.
@Marshall Cohen: Re. "never been this level...," do you have any metrics to back that up? And what is their standard deviation?
Joel Rubinson from Rubinson Partners, Inc., September 15, 2021 at 11:48 a.m.
Not sure about "crossroads" but clearly we are going down a path of privacy protection where developments can be interpreted as leading to less privacy not more.  For example,  Apple deprecates MAIDs but knows everything I do AND reads my e-mails (and uses that information).  we are replacing the most anonymous of identifiers..cookies...with PII based identifiers.  Perhaps the cross-roads is that it is time for the industry to make its case to consumers and legislators that targeted advertising adds value to consumers via greater relevamce rather than viewing it as an intrusion.
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Ed Papazian from Media Dynamics Inc, September 15, 2021 at 11:59 a.m.
Marshall, if you go back to the early 1960s there was a huge amount of blame placed on Nielsen for deceiving the TV networks into believing that violence laden cop, western and adventure shows were what people liked---based on "erroneous"  data from a panel that had less than a thousand homes supplying the data for a particular evening. Then, too, people were running about yelling about sample size issues as well as how this small panel was selected and maintained with the result that there was a major congressinal investigation about TV ratings. This dragged on and on but the investigators never found a smoking gun---only minor lapses and failings which were speedily corrected. The outcome was, in the end a good  one---the formation of the MRC--which still provides a very useful policing function today. But let's not get carried away. The TV rating "sky" has not fallen. It has slipped somewhat and corrective action is needed and, I'm sure,. will be taken. What's really important is how we approach the next step---devising a modern national  "TV" rating service and getting it funded by all parties so one side---the sellers ---doesn't dominate the decision making.
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M Cohen from marshall cohen associates replied, September 15, 2021 at 12:06 p.m.
@Joe, Here, I am using qualitative data. To this veteran research guy, it "feels" very different.
Joe Mandese from MediaPost Inc., September 15, 2021 at 12:20 p.m.
@Marshall Cohen: Well, quantiatively, you may be right. It's a blunt tool, but I just did Google queries for each year including the terms "Nielsen TV Ratings" and "criticism," and 2021 does indeed index high. If I prorate the year-to-date 2021 Google results for 12 months, I come up with about 34,533, which would rank it the highest since I started covering Nielsen in 1983.


2021: 25,900

2020: 25,300

2019: 15,500

2018: 30,200

2017: 27,500

2016: 11,300

2015: 10,200

2014: 9,380

2013: 21,600

2012: 24,300

2011: 22,700

2010: 27,500

2009: 7,380

2008: 22,500

2007: 24,300

2006: 23,200

2005: 21,800

2004: 21,200

2003: 19,900

2002: 19,000

2001: 18,500

2000: 7,900

1999: 16,500

1998: 16,100

1997: 14,800

1996: 15,100

1995: 13,900

1994: 14,700

1993: 12,700

1992: 13,300

1991: 11,900

1990: 16,100

1989: 12,100

1988: 12,200

1987: 10,000

1986: 11,100

1985: 10,200

1984: 11,300

1983: 7,830




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Benny Radjasa from Armonix Digital, Inc. replied, September 15, 2021 at 2:01 p.m.
Ed certainly has a different opinion on this, he had mentioned to me:


"Nielsen has not been criticized "for years" for producing "inaccurate" ratings."
Ed Papazian from Media Dynamics Inc, September 15, 2021 at 6:35 p.m.
Benny, even back in the 1960s, nobody believed that Nielsen was grossly misrepresenting America's tastes in TV fare. Indeed, when Nielsen's findings were compared with those of other companies---like The American Research Bureau's household diary studies or the Trendex telephone coincidentials conducted in major markets---- the results were very close. As for the Congressional investigation, it was a wild goose chase---in effect blaming Nielsen, who was merely the messenger, for all of the violent shows that began appearing on TV---but, at least it spawned the MRC, which was a good thing.
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Benny Radjasa from Armonix Digital, Inc. replied, September 16, 2021 at 12:21 a.m.
Ed, 1960 is 61 years ago.  It's a very long time.  For example, GE, Kodak, IBM, 61 years ago is very different companies what they are and how they operate right now.
Ed Papazian from Media Dynamics Inc, September 16, 2021 at 7:42 a.m.
That's correct, B
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