In an effort to better track how consumers are watching TV programs, Nielsen Media Research will soon be able to measure viewership beyond TV screens, including iPods, cell phones and Internet programming.
Under the initiative, called Anytime Anywhere Media Measurement (A2/M2), Nielsen will install software on computers owned by a sample of consumers who have Nielsen’s People Meters hooked up to their TV sets. Nielsen hopes to form one overall group to measure TV and Internet viewing at the same time.
“A2/M2 is the result of extensive consultation with clients who told us clearly that we should ‘follow the video’ and deliver integrated measurement of all television-like content regardless of [the] platform,” Susan Whiting, Nielsen Media Research chief executive said in a statement.
The company plans to install the new system by September 2007, the start of the 2007-08 season. The program is expected to roll out over the next several years. Testing is slated to begin this summer.
To kickoff the tracking for the smaller screens, Nielsen plans to create a 400-person panel of iPod users by yearend to measure viewing on such portable devices.
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