MUMBAI: US sports broadcaster ESPN will shut down its three year old 3D channel by the end of this year.
There is a lack of viewer interest in watching 3D content at home. ESPN 3D‘s audience ratings were below Nielsen‘s measurable threshold.
ESPN spokesperson Katina Arnold said in a tweet, “ESPN 3D was great at home but due to low adoption of 3D to home, we are discontinuing to focus on other products for fans and affiliates.”
MUMBAI: New Delhi Television (NDTV) ain’t giving up on its law suit against global research agency Nielsen on account of the TV ratings service it runs in India with global advertising powerhouse WPP under TAM Media Research. Last week, the newscaster filed fresh papers with a New York state supreme court appealing against its decision earlier this year to dismiss its $1 billion suit against Nielsen and WPP.This time, however, it has named only Nielsen group companies in the appeal, whereas earlier it had included both in its suit.
While dismissing the suit, the New York court had then said that NDTV’s claim and complaint should be filed and contested in Indian courts where TAM, the Nielsen-WPP joint venture is based and not in New York.
NDTV’s nine month old lawsuit states that it has lost hundred of millions of dollars in ad revenues on account of the inaccuracies in TAM’s TV ratings service in India and that it needs to be compensated for the loss. It had alleged that TAM staff took bribes in exchange for overstating ratings.
In its fresh appeal (a copy of which is with indiantelevision.com) which it filed with the court on 15 May, NDTV sought a reversal, annulment or modification of the trial’s court’s dismissal of its application earlier as it has mistakenly ruled that the Big Apple is not a proper venue for the suit because it “failed to accept as true the allegations” that the New York-based Nielsen owns and controls the “Nielsen process” upon which its ratings services around the world operate.
Additionally, the NDTV appeal has stated that the court has disregarded the fact that Nielsen’s hq and “senior management (and several key witnesses and thus evidence) are located in New York and the court wrongly concluded that the defendants were foreign.”
The court has also erred earlier in dismissing its amended complaint, NDTV has stated in its appeal, “for its failure to include an indispensable party (TAM)..the court wrongly concluded that its claims address TAM’s misconduct in India when in fact NDTV’s claims are based solely on the conduct of the New York-based Nielsen.”
“The Indian courts likely lack jurisdiction over Nielsen,” as it is based out of New York, pleads the new NDTV filing. “Contrary to the trial court’s rulings..we properly pled that Nielsen breached a duty it owed to NDTV and the breach resulted in a compensable injury.”
NDTV has pointed out that it had brought the bugs in TAM’s ratings process in India to WPP’s and Nielsen’s notice. Both had promised to have these rectified, but did nothing about it forcing it to take the matter to the US courts.
WPP and Nielsen had denied NDTV’s claims and said that the case should be argued in India and the not in the US, which the New York court had accepted while dismissing the case.
TAM, on its part, in recent times, has been making efforts to spruce up its act, aiming to guarantee impartiality of its ratings service. It has set up a vigilance desk’, headed by a former senior policeman, and a ‘transparency panel’ of regulation experts. But some broadcasters have said these changes have come too late.
MUMBAI: For the advertising industry, 2012 closed on a positive note with ad spends increasing 3.2 per cent globally year-over-year to $557 billion, according to Nielsen’s quarterly Global AdView Pulse report.
A strong third quarter, which saw growth of 4.3 per cent, helped drive the annual increase. Ad spend growth receded to a more modest 2.5 per cent in the fourth quarter.
All regions except Europe increased their ad spending in 2012. The Middle East/African market showed impressive growth of 14.6 per cent for the year as the region’s economy stabilized. Egypt was part of that turnaround, registering a 20.4 per cent increase in spending. Meanwhile, deep cuts to ad budgets continued in Europe, fueling a 5.3 per cent decrease for the final quarter, yielding an annual decrease of 4.2 per cent. Even economic powerhouse Germany reported a one per cent dip in the fourth quarter, the second consecutive quarter during which the country reported a decline in advertising spend.
The Asian-Pacific market underperformed as well, as its annual increase in ad spend fell from 11.5 per cent in 2011 to a mere 2.8 per cent in 2012, propelled in part by China’s very slight gain of 1.9 per cent for the year.
Ad spending in North America remained on an upward trajectory at the end of the year, climbing 3.1 per cent in the fourth quarter. This helped the region report 4.6 per cent growth for the full year.
Mumbai: Media insights firm Ormax Media has strengthened its research team with the appointment of Venugopal Bhamidipati as Insights Head – Print, Radio & Branded Entertainment.
He will be based out of Mumbai and will be reporting to Ormax Media CEO Shailesh Kapoor.
Kapoor said, “Our print and radio work has seen significant growth over the last two years. In the area of branded entertainment, we have been doing extensive work on evaluating the effectiveness of sponsorships and media associations for brand and their media agencies. With Venugopal’s diverse experience, we are ready to tap the true potential of these domains.”
Bhamidipati said, “Ormax Media offers the best of both the worlds, consumer insights and media expertise. I look forward to working with the team at Ormax in these exciting times for the media & entertainment industry.”
Bhamidipati comes with six years of research industry experience, having worked with IMRB International, Nielsen and Hansa Research Group.
In his last assignment, Venugopal worked as Strategic Planning Director at Publicis Captial.
MUMBAI: Brand, media and communications research company Millward Brown has appointed Prasun Basu to the post of managing director for the South Asia Region.
Basu will report in to Africa, Middle East and Asia Pacific (AMAP) CEO Travyn Rhall and will join the AMAP executive board. He will be based in Mumbai.
Basu replaces Shishir Varma who served as Indian operations MD for five years. He will be taking on the role of chief client officer for the AMAP region and will be based out of Dubai.
Basu‘s responsibilities in the new post involve leading Millward Brown‘s operations across India and also expanding operations in South Asia. Millward Brown currently has offices in Mumbai, Gurgaon and Bangalore.
Basu said, “I am delighted to have been appointed to lead Millward Brown across South Asia at such an exciting time for both the region and our company‘s development. From its set-up in 2008, the organization has grown significantly under Shishir‘s leadership. As relationships with our clients mature, it becomes more important than ever that we continue to provide our clients with the very best consumer-based advice on managing their marketing investments, as branding and the role of media increases in importance across the rapidly-changing but incredibly diverse region”.
Basu joined Millward Brown in May 2011 as managing director of the East Africa operations, before he went on to lead the newly-formed Middle East and North Africa business units. Prior to Millward Brown, he was at Nielsen for five years in a number of positions, the latest being head of consumer research for the India Region as well as head of BASES for Africa, Middle East and India.
Rhall said, “Prasun is a hugely experienced researcher with a proven track record who will lead the business to best serve our clients in this increasingly important region. His rare management talent and passion for the business of brands make him an invaluable addition to both the India and regional management teams.”
MUMBAI: US TV viewers are taking to Twitter to talk about TV and the digital chatter is building steam.
According to SocialGuide, 32 million unique people in the U.S. Tweeted about TV in 2012. That’s quite the confab, but what does it all really mean for the TV industry? Should networks and advertisers be paying attention? Early research on the subject from US media research company Nielsen and SocialGuide says yes.
By analysing Tweets about live TV, the study confirmed a relationship between Twitter and TV ratings. It also identified Twitter as one of three statistically significant variables (in addition to prior-year rating and advertising spend) to align with TV ratings.
SocialGuide CEO Andrew Somosi said, “While prior-year rating accounts for the lion’s share of the variability in TV ratings, Twitter’s presence as a top three influencer tells us that Tweeting about live TV may affect programme engagement.
“We expected to see a correlation between Twitter and TV ratings, but this study quantifies the strength of that relationship.”
Much of the correlation is being driven by the rise in media consumption across multiple device screens. 80 per cent of US tablet and smartphone owners who watch TV use their device while watching at least several times a month. 40 per cent of US tablet and smartphone users visit a social network while watching TV.
How well does Twitter align with TV program ratings? The recent Nielsen/SocialGuide study confirmed that increases in Twitter volume correlate to increases in TV ratings for varying age groups, revealing a stronger correlation for younger audiences. Specifically, the study found that for 18-34 year olds, an 8.5 per cent increase in Twitter volume corresponds to a one per cent increase in TV ratings for premiere episodes, and a 4.2 per cent increase in Twitter volume corresponds with a one per cent increase in ratings for midseason episodes. Additionally, a 14 per cent increase in Twitter volume is associated with a one per cent increase in TV program ratings for 35-49 year olds, reflecting a stronger relationship between Twitter and TV for younger audiences.
Further, the study found that the correlation between Tweets and TV ratings strengthens for midseason episodes for both age groups. An increase in Twitter volume of 4.2 per cent and 8.4 per cent is associated with a one per cent increase in ratings for 18-34 year olds and 35-49 year olds, respectively. Moreover, by midseason Twitter was responsible for more of the variance in ratings for 18-34 year olds than advertising spend.
Nielsen executive VP of media analytics Mike Hess said, “The TV industry is dynamic and it was important for us to analyse multiple variables to truly understand Twitter’s impact on TV ratings.
“While our study doesn’t prove causality, the correlation we uncovered is significant and we will continue our research to deepen the industry’s understanding of this relationship.”
MUMBAI: Nielsen, a global provider of information and insights into what consumers watch and buy, has launched a solution Nielsen Mobile Brand Effect that measures the resonance of brand advertising within mobile apps.
Nielsen Mobile Brand Effect debuts amid continued adoption of the mobile app environment by both consumers and advertisers. In the past year, the number of U.S. consumers using mobile apps nearly doubled to 101.8 million and mobile advertising spending is now estimated at $4 billion annually.
Available immediately in the United States, Nielsen Mobile Brand Effect is the latest addition to the Nielsen Brand Effect product suite, which already measures ad resonance across TV and computer browsers.
Building upon the technologies and best practices utilized for measuring ad resonance in online display and video ads, Nielsen Mobile Brand Effect captures consumer sentiment through an in-app survey and delivers performance against the primary marketing objective of the campaign using classic brand lift metrics such as awareness, attitude, favorability and purchase intent. The solution works across mobile operating systems, including Apple iOS and Android.
As with Nielsen Online Brand Effect, the mobile in-app resonance solution is built around a real-time, collaborative model that allows everyone with a stake in the campaign to measure and optimize performance in-flight. The results, in total and by app, segment, lifetime performance, creative and frequency, are displayed in a web-based dashboard in real-time. In addition, the scalable nature of the solution means that a larger portion of a marketer’s ad spend can be measured and optimized.
“Mobile is a consumer’s best friend: a companion, helper, teacher, entertainer. It’s no wonder time spent on mobile continues to grow as options like apps expand and enhance the user experience,” said Nielsen President, Global Product Leadership Steve Hasker. “As more marketers tap this evolving medium, we’re excited that Nielsen Mobile Brand Effect will be there to help them understand how their ads resonate on mobile and across platforms.”
The launch of Nielsen Mobile Brand Effect is the latest development in Nielsen’s strategy to deliver end-to-end solutions that measure the reach, resonance and reaction to ads across platforms and around the globe. Nielsen’s TV and online Brand Effect solutions are available in the U.S. and in select markets internationally.
MUMBAI: The lower court in New York, which was hearing arguments on whether the US or India is the appropriate forum for the case that New Delhi Television Ltd (NDTV) had filed against Nielsen and Kantar over TV ratings manipulation, has ruled that India would be a more convenient forum than the US.
The Indian news broadcaster has decided to appeal against this verdict. NDTV said that the lower court‘s decision is based on “several misconceptions, legal and factual errors”, and “this would be outlined in the appeal.”
NDTV said, “The New York lower court did not go into the merits of the case on corruption in the Nielsen Process as used by Nielsen and Kantar through TAM, (Nielsen and Kantar are the owners of TAM). The court merely looked at where the location of the case should be heard. NDTV firmly believes it must be heard in New York and we will pursue this on appeal in New York.”
MUMBAI: Facebook has said that it has acquired media measurement platform Atlas Advertiser Suite from Microsoft which it believes will benefit both marketers and users.
Atlas is a leader in campaign management and measurement for marketers and agencies. It is part of Microsoft‘s 2007 purchase of aQuantive for $6.3 billion.
The social networking service provider believes that in a complex marketing environment where marketers and agencies struggle to understand how their efforts across different channels complement and strengthen each other, Atlas will allow them to get a holistic view of campaign performance.
“This challenge also provides an opportunity. If marketers and agencies can get a holistic view of campaign performance, they will be able to do a much better job of making sure the right messages get in front of the right people at the right time,” Facebook said in a statement.
“Atlas has built capabilities that allow for this kind of measurement, and enhancing these systems will give marketers a deeper understanding of effectiveness and lead to better digital advertising experiences for consumers.”
The company said that it improve Atlas‘ capabilities by investing in scaling its back-end measurement systems and enhancing its current suite of advertiser tools on desktop and mobile.
“We will also work to improve the user interface and functionality with the goal of making Atlas the most effective, intuitive, and powerful ad serving, management and measurement platform in the industry,” the company added.
Atlas’s powerful platform, combined with Nielsen and Datalogix, will help advertisers close the loop and compare their Facebook campaigns to the rest of their ad spend across the web on desktop and mobile.
MUMBAI: The Cambodian Broadcasting Service has awarded Kantar Media a two-year contract for television audience research.
Kantar Media will record the television viewing habits of more than 500 homes in specific regions and urban areas including Phnom Penh, Siem Riep and Battam Bang using a personal diary service. Clients will use Infosys+ analysis software to conduct in-depth analysis of the recorded viewing habits including what they watch, when they watch it and for how long.
Mai Tran, MD of Kantar Media in Vietnam who will oversee the new service, comments, “Our expertise in measuring Kantar Mediua audiences using a secure and transparent methodology will ensure the data can be used by broadcasters, agencies, local and global advertisers to optimise their marketing campaigns. It will give Cambodian Broadcasting a holistic overview of TV viewing habits within the market.”
The contract, which will begin this year, extends Kantar Media’s footprint for audience research to 62 countries worldwide including eight Asian Pacific countries (Australia, China, Cambodia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea and Vietnam).
Kantar Media is a joint venture partner with Nielsen in TAM India, India‘s sole TV audience measurement agency.
Kantar Media Audiences Global CEO Richard Asquith said, “We are delighted to have been chosen to deliver the first TV audience measuret service in Cambodia. The media landscape is evolving rapidly in this dynamic region and we are confident that we can meet the industry’s need for audience measurement that will complement and support the growing TV ecosystem.”