Nielsen MRC accreditation of Digital in TV Ratings
February 8, 2017
Nielsen has been granted accreditation by the Media Rating Council (MRC) for its inclusion of digital measurement in the TV ratings. The additional capability, known as Digital in TV Ratings, accounts for linear TV viewing occurring on desktop and mobile devices for participating programming sources. This is the first solution to receive accreditation from the MRC for its contribution to TV audience measurement for programming viewed on computers and mobile devices.
Digital in TV Ratings launched in 2015 and is currently in use by clients such as ABC, CBS, Freeform and Univision. The capability draws on Nielsen’s Total Audience methodology, combining census-based data, persons demographics and Nielsen’s high-quality, representative panels to report audiences across National and Local People Meter markets. It provides a method for programmers to account for all viewers across devices as long as the programme content and commercials match the linear TV airing. The results are combined with traditional linear audience metrics to include that viewing into the C3/C7 and local average quarter hour measurement.
Nielsen will continue to work with the MRC to gain accreditation for other Nielsen Total Audience solutions, such as Digital Content Ratings, and intends to seek accreditation for Total Content Ratings.
MRC Executive Director and CEO George W. Ivie said, “We congratulate Nielsen for meeting the rigorous requirements necessary to earn MRC accreditation for Digital in TV Ratings. With this validation of its measurement of TV programming viewed on computers and mobile devices, Nielsen has taken an important step in its efforts to meet the needs of the marketplace to have a fuller view into the consumption of TV programming across platforms, regardless of how it is being consumed.”