Some yardsticks are hard to break.
The nation’s TV companies have for months worked to edge out Nielsen from the business of measuring TV audiences. They had good reason: Nielsen failed to count viewership properly during the coronavirus pandemic, leading to a lack of confidence in its abilities and a removal of its national accreditation by the Media Rating Council — an act tantamount to pulling off the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval from a kitchen tool or appliance.
Since that decision in September of 2021, many big TV networks have struck partnerships with other measurement vendors, then worked to convince advertisers they should test new currencies for ad deals based on the new tabulations. NBCUniversal has an alliance with iSpotTV; Paramount Global has been working with VideoAmp, and Warner Bros. Discovery in March said it would work with Comscore and VideoAmp to develop a new system of exchange.
They shouldn’t count Nielsen out. Last week, Nielsen’s national TV ratings regained their MRC backing, standing as the only measurement system in the industry to have that official nod. Heading into the industry’s annual “upfront” sales session, when TV networks try to sell the bulk of their advertising inventory in advance of their next programming cycle, Nielsen now has something that the networks’ many upstart partners do not — a key distinction when advertisers say they still want an independent, third-party vendor examining TV audiences, not the TV network that’s taking their money.
Nielsen has already begun to stand apart. On Friday, the measurement giant informed the networks, currently trying to take more control of the measurement process through a Joint Industry Committee that aims to oversee “certification” of new tabulation technologies, that Nielsen would stay out of that process. “We are encouraged by the desire to collaborate and move toward open innovation. But we must do so in a responsible manner that adheres to the current trusted and acceptable MRC standards. That is why we remain committed to undergoing independent audits and the MRC accreditation process,” said Karthik Rao, CEO of Nielsen’s global audience measurement business,” in a letter sent to David Levy, CEO of OpenAP, the consortium owned by many of the nation’s big media companies. “It’s the standard we’ve always set for ourselves — and the standard the whole industry should demand.”
Nielsen has some leverage. While Warner Bros. Discovery, NBCUniversal, TelevisaUnivision and Paramount Global are eager to move the JIC’s business forward, they have yet to secure the direct involvement of some important companies, including Disney — which has maintained its connections to Nielsen throughout the recent industry tumult. “We define the industry the way the audience defines TV in 2023. That needs to include Disney, Amazon, Netflix, YouTube, and any major streaming platform,” said Rao. “only a subset of industry participants created the JIC standards, and significant media companies either were not invited to participate or have chosen not to participate.”
And Nielsen also has some competition. The company is working hard to launch a new system called Nielsen One that it believes will be able to count audiences across digital and linear viewing windows and give advertisers and publishers a single set of metrics. Some TV executives will put forth the notion that they should not be forced to accept what is essentially a new system from Nielsen, which has not moved as quickly to monitor digital audiences as the networks might like, when there are so many other alternatives to consider and examine.
The companies involved in the Joint Industry Committee feel “that all solutions must be subject to the same level of scrutiny so that buyers and sellers have confidence transacting. No one measurement company should be able to influence the requirements to benefit their bid for certification over their competition,” according to a statement. “Collaboration is the only way to move this industry forward. We believe that there is an important role for Nielsen and we encourage them to join JIC members and all other measurement companies under the tent to listen to feedback and respond on how they are going to address their customers’ concerns.”
And so, there appears to be something of a standstill at a time when the industry can ill afford it. TV faces heady competition from a powerful set of digital rivals. Amazon now controls a major NFL franchise. Netflix, with a new ad-supported tier at the ready, is holding forth during TV’s upfront week for the first time. Roku recently offered to guarantee audiences in primetime to advertisers willing to strike a deal. It’s entirely feasible that this year, according to one media-buying executive, that Madison Avenue may seek to do an early upfront deal with one of the digital players if the TV networks are backing terms that seem too onerous.
This may be the end result of the seemingly endless bickering between Nielsen and the networks that has taken place for more than a year. Neither side seems willing to work with the other, even though they are not likely to achieve their goals unless they do.
