Tag: Nielsen Media Research

Golden Globe Awards gets best viewership in 10 years

MUMBAI: Sunday’s telecast of the 71st annual Golden Globe Awards seems to have exceeded all expectations. If numbers are to be believed the gala drew its best audience in the past decade with 20.9 million people tuning in to watch the Hollywood awards show, Comcast Corp-owned network NBC stated on Monday.

The three-hour awards show, which honors the year’s achievements in film and television, rose six percent in total viewers compared to last year and was up two percent in the 18-49 age group most coveted by advertisers, according to early figures from Nielsen Media Research.

The show hosted for a second consecutive year by comedians Tina Fey and Amy Poehler was received well once again as the Golden Globe Awards beat other televised ceremonies such as the Emmys and People’s Choice Awards for viewers. The duo have already signed on to host next year’s Golden Globes.

Big film winners at the Golden Globes, which are handed out by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, were historical slavery drama 12 Years a Slave and 1970s corruption romp American Hustle.

January 15, 2014
International visitors boost traffic at Oscar.com during Academy Awards

MUMBAI: US measurement service comScore Networks has reported the results of a study conducted on visitation to popular film-related Internet sites in conjunction with last weeek’s 79th Annual Academy Awards.

On Sunday 25 February, 2007 139,000 US Internet users visited Oscar.com, a one-day increase of 219-per cent versus the 44,000 visitors that visited the site on 24 February, 2007.

comScore Media Metrix executive VP Jack Flanagan says, “For the audience watching the Academy Awards at home, the Internet has become an important part of enjoying the festivities. Whether they follow the action on the red carpet or view clips and trailers of nominated movies, consumers are supplementing their television viewing experience with web content.”

Tinternational visitor traffic to Oscar.com also spiked. Of the 422,000 total worldwide visitors to Oscar.com on Oscar Sunday, just one out of every three site visitors came from the U.S. while the remaining two-thirds came from international locations. Canada and Mexico, both of which were well represented among the various award nominees, combined to account for nearly 10 per cent of the worldwide audience.

European countries such as the UK and France also factored in prominently with 10,000 and 8,000 visitors, respectively. Nielsen Media Research meanwhile says that the Academy Awards which aired on US broadcaster ABC had 24 minutes of commercial time during the 3 hour and 10 minute broadcast (not including the Oscar pre-show). This was down slightly from 24 and a half minutes last year.

27 unique brands aired commercials that competed for viewers’ attention for a total of 38 national advertisements in this year’s broadcast. In addition, ABC aired three minutes and 50 seconds of promotional announcements.

General Motors was the top advertiser again this year, with 3? minutes of commercial time, 30 seconds less than last year. Coca-Cola and L’Oreal tied for second place with three minutes each. J.C. Penney was the fourth largest advertiser with 2? minutes. These four companies have maintained the top slots for the last two Oscar telecasts.

March 5, 2007
TV homes in US to touch 163.7 mn by 2050: Nielsen

MUMBAI: The total number of TV households in the US is expected grow 47 per cent from 111.4 million to 163.7 million by r 2050.

Estimates have been released by Nielsen Media Research in its annual report `Projected Estimates of TV Households and Persons 2008 to 2050.’

The report also includes projected estimates for African-American, Hispanic and, for the first time, Asian TV households in the US.

The total number of TV households will grow 66 per cent for African-Americans, 167 per cent for Hispanics and 166 per cent for Asians.

The number of people in the US living in TV households will grow by 40 per cent (from 283.5 million to 396.3 million). The number of African-Americans in TV households will increase 59 per cent, Hispanics 136 per cent and Asians 155 per cent.

February 10, 2007
Nielsen Media Research launches Arianna Software in US

MUMBAI: Nielsen Media Research has released Arianna, a software tool used to analyse ratings data in local markets in the US.

The software will enable local clients to go beyond the reporting capabilities of existing software, and move into the arena of desktop data analysis. The version of Arianna can analyse metered market overnight ratings data for a single market.

The product will first be rolled out to Local People Meter markets – the ten markets that are currently metered by this technology and the three markets scheduled for 2007. Arianna will then be rolled out to the set meter markets during the first quarter of the year. A version for agency, rep firm, national broadcast and cable clients which includes a multi-market report, will be released later this year.

Arianna is the AGB Nielsen Media Research proprietary analysis software tool that is used by Nielsen Media Research under license. The AGB Group and Nielsen Media Research International formed a joint venture in August 2005 to offer television ratings in 30 countries under the AGB Nielsen Media Research brand name.

It is through an agreement with the JV that Nielsen Media Research can market Arianna, which was initially developed by AGB and modified jointly by the JV and Nielsen Media Research for the US market. Arianna is currently in use in 30 countries across four continents.

February 10, 2007
‘American Idol’ sets a ratings record on Fox

MUMBAI: American Idol is going from strength to strength.

The sixth season premiere of US broadcaster Fox’s music based reality show was the most-watched in its six-year history, drawing an estimated 37.3 million viewers according to preliminary ratings from Nielsen Media Research. In India the show airs on Star World.

This represents a five per cent increase over last year’s record premiere audience of 35.5 million, making it the best debut for the show ever for Fox.

As has been the case in the past American Idol, which gives viewers the chance to pick the finalists and winner, began as usual with scenes from nationwide auditions. The early rounds feature both promising singers and those who serve as targets for acerbic judge Simon Cowell before they are booted out.

January 20, 2007
Cartoon Network’s premiere of original film ‘Re-Animated’ makes network history

MUMBAI: Cartoon Network premiered its first-ever original live-action and animation movie, Re-Animated recently scoring double-digit delivery and ratings gains across key demos in the US and setting a new performance record for the network’s top original movie ever with its target kids 6-11, according to preliminary data from Nielsen Media Research.

According to an official release, Re-Animated, which was aired in the Friday, 8-10 pm slot, out-performed all of Cartoon Network’s earlier original movie offerings with its primary kids 6-11 demo, including Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends: Good Wilt Hunting (23 November 2006), Codename: Kids Next Door: Operation Z.E.R.O. (11 August 2006), Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends (13 August 2004), Party Wagon (27 Feburary 2004) and Samurai Jack: The Trilogy (10 August 2001).

The two-hour adventure-comedy about a 12 year-old boy whose life is turned upside-down after an accident at an amusement park posted delivery and ratings increases of 28 per cent -47 per cent among kids 6 – 11 and kids 2-11 vs. the same time period last year.

The results were even stronger among boys – 44 per cent-75 per cent delivery and ratings improvements vs 2005. Re-Animated also ranked as the No. 1 program of the week on Cartoon Network and the No. 1 program with kids 6-11 and 2-11 in its time period among all ad-supported basic cable, adds the release.

Re-Animated tells the story of about a seventh-grader Jimmy Roberts (Dominic Janes, ER) who requires an emergency brain transplant after a collision with a park trolley while visiting the famous Gollyworld theme park. Gollyworld doctors give him the frozen brain of the famous cartoonist Milt Appleday (comedy veteran Fred Willard). Now, wherever Jimmy goes he sees all of Milt Appleday’s cartoon characters in the real world. Actors Paul Reubens, Tom Kenny, Ellen Greene and Brian Posehn lend their voices to the Appleday cartoon characters that come to life for Jimmy.

December 13, 2006
Nielsen to launch VoD measurement service in US on 11 December

MUMBAI: Nielsen Media Research in the United States has announced that it will launch a new service to measure nationally distributed Video On Demand (VoD) content on 11 December. This service will use the same National People Meter sample it uses to provide television ratings to national programmers.

As with Nielsen’s current ratings, clients will receive household and demographic ratings for VoD content along with other detailed audience information. By measuring VoD content in its national ratings panel, Nielsen will enable clients to compare the performance of programs airing on traditional channels with the performance of those same programs on demand, informs an official release.

Nielsen will be able to provide VoD reporting to clients who implement “watermarking,” or audio code, technology that identifies specific on-demand titles. Working in conjunction with clients, Nielsen has developed the encoding tools to uniquely “watermark” VoD content so that Nielsen’s newly deployed Active/Passive meter can accurately identify on-demand viewing sessions.

Nielsen’s launch of VoD measurement ushers in a new level of reporting for all types of video on demand programming, including titles from the libraries of content providers and recently telecast programs shown again via VoD.
New broadcast and cable network programming that is played back via VoD is already included in Nielsen’s time-shifted viewing ratings, but only if the programming content and advertising is the same as is in the original live telecast, adds the release.

“Because Video On Demand is a growing business and a potentially valuable new revenue stream for programmers, it is increasingly important for them to understand who is watching their shows and to be able to compare the viewing that is being done via traditional television and VoD,” said Nielsen senior vice president Scott L Brown. “With this launch, we continue to ‘follow the video’ wherever it is broadcast, while fulfilling a commitment we made to clients who told us last year that VoD measurement was a major priority for them. Nielsen will be working with clients to make sure they install our watermarking technology so we can identify both their library content and their new, recently presented programs shown via VoD.”

The release also states that Nielsen’s new watermarking process involves new software that embeds content identification information in the audio of the VoD program. This software has been tested by a number of clients over the course of several months and is now ready for use. Once a client installs the watermarking software, Nielsen can identify the programs it wishes to track through the VoD process, and the VoD programs viewed in sample households can be credited accordingly.

November 17, 2006
Most DVR homes in the US play recorded primetime content within two days

MUMBAI: Among television households with digital video recorders (DVRs) in the US, more than 78 per cent of all viewers who watch recorded broadcast primetime shows within a week play them back within two days. 84 per cent of them play them back within three days.

That is one of the findings from recent analysis of DVR playback viewing by Nielsen Media Research, for the week of 25 September.

TAmong viewers age 18-49, 76% played back broadcast network primetime programs within 48-hours. During the same time period, 84% watched primetime shows they recorded off advertiser-supported cable networks; and 85% viewed time-shifted syndicated shows within two days. By the third day, those percentages rose to 84% for primetime broadcast, 90% for primetime cable and 91% for total syndication.

Nielsen Media Research senior VP planning and analysis Pat McDonough says, “The TV landscape is changing rapidly, and as consumers increasingly decide for themselves when to watch their favorite shows, Nielsen will establish new means to track their behaviour.

“This latest analysis allows clients to better understand how DVR playback affects viewing over seven days. It will enable us to work with clients to determine the most appropriate way to incorporate this data into our measurements.”

Nielsen says that viewers age 18-49 constitute the largest targeted buying group within the television industry. Other key findings with respect to DVR playback of primetime programming among persons 18-49 reveal that:

Among all households age 18-49, 2.6 per cent of viewing time is DVR playback, but among households with DVRs, 22.9 per cent of all primetime minutes viewed are via DVR playback.

Among total minutes of primetime programming viewed by households with DVRs within seven days, the percentage that is played back from DVR is:
Broadcast Networks: 41.1 per cent
Ad-Supported cable: 17.9 per cent
Syndication: 14.1 per cent

November 13, 2006
Nielsen to provide video game rating service

MUMBAI: Drawing on its resources in media audience measurement, Nielsen Media Research has launched GamePlay Metrics in the US.

This is a new rating service for video games. The all-electronic ratings service will establish new metrics for the buying and selling of advertising in video games, while also tracking the activities of gamers across other media platforms, such as TV and the Internet.

GamePlay Metrics will be the first offering from the newly created Nielsen Wireless and Interactive Services division. The new data will
enable the video game industry to develop an advertising business model to offset the steep development costs of new titles for next-generation consoles.

In addition, the metrics will give advertisers a greater level of precision for targeting the digital consumer. Nielsen’s new measurement service will provide advertisers, agencies,
hardware manufacturers and game developers with independent, high-quality, quantitative demographic data for negotiating the buying and selling of in-game and around-game advertising.

Nielsen’s GamePlay Metrics service also will provide advertisers with analysis on how video game play affects or complements the
use of other electronic media. For example, the data will show what television programmes gamers watch when they’re not playing games. This unified data source increases the precision of advertisers’ target marketing, and enables them to allocate their ad dollars in a more
efficient manner.

Nielsen Wireless and Interactive Services VP Jeff Herrmann says, “The value of an entertainment medium is directly proportional to how well it is measured. A reliable and accurate standard of measurement for video gaming will drive advertising investment in this medium and help convert video game advertising from a discretionary advertising experiment to a must-have option.

“Nielsen’s unmatched resources, including its portfolio of intellectual property, extensive technology infrastructure and decades of media measurement expertise, are the foundation of the Nielsen Wireless and Interactive Services business.”

Denuo gaming division Play’s group director Saneel Radia says, “For games to gain prominence as both a medium and a communication platform, the gaming industry must deliver the tools brands need to leverage it most effectively. A credible set of data and learnings such as those provided by Nielsen’s GamePlay Metrics Service will provide marketers the confidence they demand, expanding the size and type of deals in this burgeoning space.”

Collecting Video Game Data : The new service builds on Nielsen’s Anytime Anywhere Media Measurement (A2/M2) initiative — which provides integrated ratings for video
consumption across multiple media platforms — by harvesting information from existing Nielsen samples.

Nielsen’s national television sample of more than 10,000 households in the US currently collects information on video game use through existing People

Meter technology. Nielsen GamePlay Metrics will use a patented approach to harvest this existing information from current and next-generation video game consoles within these sample households. The new service will passively record the titles of games while capturing key demographic detail about players. Moreover, because it is based on Nielsen’s national TV ratings sample,

Nielsen GamePlay Metrics also will provide advertisers with data on what TV programmes are consumed by active gamers. Nielsen GamePlay Metrics will begin providing video game ratings data in mid-2007. Subscribing clients will receive, on a weekly basis, easy-to-access ratings charts and rankings which show the most-played video games. Clients will be given necessary elements — titles, platform, genre, daypart and demographics — from which to base their advertising and planning decisions.

Nielsen has been working with major clients in the video game industry, including the manufacturing and advertising sectors, to develop the specific metrics that will be used to measure game playing. In order to process the data to be collected from game consoles, the Nielsen GamePlay Metrics service is developing a new audio system to process data on video game, movie, music, video and other media usage.

This system builds on Nielsen’s existing experience with its Active/Passive metering technology, and eventually this same type of collection system will be leveraged by Nielsen’s other A2/M2 initiatives.

In preparation for the launch of the service, Nielsen is also building a reference data base of game titles to be measured, while creating the system for reporting information to clients.

Nielsen Wireless and Interactive Services was recently launched as a business unit to provide measurement services to the video game and wireless industries. The new unit will draw upon the resources within VNU’s Media Measurement and Information (MMI) Group, including Nielsen Media Research and Nielsen Entertainment, which recently reported the Nielsen Active Gamer 2006 study.

The key client base for Nielsen Wireless and Interactive Services will include wireless carriers, handset manufacturers, application providers, technology and infrastructure companies, video game console manufactures, publishers/developers, agencies and advertisers.

The new unit is led by Herrmann, who has held various senior marketing and product strategy roles within Nielsen Media Research and Nielsen//NetRatings. Most recently, he served as VP business development and strategy for the VNU Media Measurement and Information Group responsible for evaluating new business opportunities as well as mergers and acquisitions.

October 23, 2006
Nick US continues building on leadership position

MUMBAI: US kids channel Nickelodeon says that its in the top spot for the 11th consecutive year.

The channel says that it led basic cable as the top-rated network within the total programming day for the second quarter of the year i.e. 27 March to 25 June among total viewers and across all kids’ demos, according to Nielsen Media Research.

In addition, the network grew double digits in its multiple media offerings — including Nick.com and Nickjr.com from year-to-year, and video-on-demand — and excelled on its broadband, online gaming platforms.

Among the network’s primary demo of kids 2-11, the network posted a 3.8/1.3 million K2-11, up three per cent over second quarter 2005, and 81 per cent ahead of Cartoon Network (2.1/675,000 K2-11) and 52 per cent ahead of Disney (2.5/801,000 K2-11). With preschoolers, the network also ranked first, averaging a 4.5/560,000 K2-5, up 10 per cent over last year’s like time period, ahead of Cartoon Network by 137 per cent (1.9/237,000 K2-5) and 73 per cent versus Disney Channel (2.6/326,000 K2-5).

However among tweens 9-14, Nickelodeon remained flat for the quarter, earning a 2.5/526,000 T9-14. It still beat its competition by double digits. Among kids 6-11, Nick is up more than one rating point above its closest competitor (Nick earned a 3.5 rating while The Disney Channel averaged a 2.4 rating), equating to a 46 per cent lead.

Nickelodeon adds that it was the only major kid network that posted year to year gains among the preschool (kids 2-5) audience. During its Nick Jr. block (Monday – Friday 9 am – 2 pm), then net beat kid competitors Disney Channel and Cartoon Network by 187 per cent and 196 per cent respectively.

Nick Jr. maintains the top seven out of 10 preschool programmes on commercial TV. These were Go, Diego, Go! , Dora the Explorer, The Wonder Pets, Blue’s Clues, The Backyardigans, LazyTown and Miss Spider.

Contributing to the Nickelodeon’s quarter-to-quarter growth, were several large events including Nickelodeon’s 19th Annual Kids’ Choice Awards (KCAs). This year’s KCAs garnered an average of 3.2 million kids. In its first ever simulcast on TurboNick – a first in awards show history — the KCAs drove Nick.com to a high traffic day of more than 1.2 million unique visitors. Fairy Idol, a one-hour special based on Nick’s The Fairly OddParents, also hit high numbers drawing more than five million total viewers and more than three million kids.

As Nickelodeon continues to build its leadership in new and emerging media platforms, it has increased usership on multiple media platforms in the kids’ space, particularly with its broadband platforms, TurboNick and Nick Jr. Video, and its online sites, Nick.com and Nickjr.com.

— TurboNick, Nickelodeon’s broadband video service on Nick.com, generated 63.2 million streams in second quarter 2006, up +46 per cent over first quarter 2006. It broke its record for the highest monthly streams with more than 28 million streams in June 2006, a 33 per cent increase from May 2006.

— Nick Jr. Video, Nick Jr.’s broadband video service on Nickjr.com, garnered more than 27 million content streams in second quarter 2006. Nick Jr. Video is rapidly approaching its 100th million stream since its launch in August 2005.

— Nick Jr. Parents TV, the networks broadband service geared towards parents, generated almost 14.5 million streams for second quarter 2006, up +14 per cent versus first quarter 2006.

— For the quarter, Nick.com averaged almost 14 million unique monthly visitors, which is a 67 per cent increase versus first quarter 2006. In May, Nick.com attracted more than 14.5 million unique marking the site’s best month ever.

— Nick.com has also had more than 231 million game plays on the site this quarter, and Nickjr.com raked in 183 million game plays, up 69 per cent and 88 per cent respectively over second quarter 2005. Danny Phantom: Freak For All was the number-one game for the quarter recording 7.6 million game plays on Nick.com, while Dora’s Puppy Adventure was number-one on Nickjr.com recording 11.4 million game plays in second quarter.

June 30, 2006