MRC Thumbs Up for Nielsen's 'Big Data + Panel' Combo

In the US, the Media Rating Council (MRC) has accredited Nielsen's 'Big Data + Panel' national TV measurement system, which combines its representative panel measurement with return-path data from cable and satellite set-top boxes, and ACR data from smart TVs across 45 million households.

Nielsen partners with firms including Comcast, DirecTV, Dish Network, Roku and Vizio to access granular return-path and ACR data (automatic content recognition) from 75m devices. It is also adding first-party data from participating streaming services to help measure audiences for live streaming events. Its panels allow it to verify device-level data at the person level, comparing RPD and ACR data from particular households with the individual viewing behavior captured by its meters - and the firm says it has used this 'to calibrate big data, assign viewing to the right individuals, and project audience estimates to the entire TV population, not just those in the big data dataset'.

The MRC also recently accredited Nielsen's streaming data integration and renewed accreditation for its traditional Panel measurement. Nielsen CEO Karthik Rao says the latest announcement is 'a landmark moment for TV ratings, as it will forever change audience measurement'. He elaborates: 'No one else pairs a high quality, representative panel with a data set this large... I believe Big Data + Panel gives the industry the most accurate measurement in the history of TV. We're grateful to our clients for helping us innovate once again'.

George Ivie, CEO and Executive Director of the MRC comments: 'MRC has completed and evaluated rigorous audits of Nielsen's National Service and its new components, including first party streaming (thus far consisting of select NFL games) and the integration of big data. We have now approved the integration of big data so this combined methodology can be considered MRC accredited: we appreciate Nielsen's inclusion of this in the MRC accreditation process. This effort marks the first time MRC has accredited a hybrid panel/big-data product inclusive of persons level estimates'.

Nielsen says 'Big Data + Panel' was widely adopted by many broadcasters and agencies for the 2024 Upfront season, and is recommending it as a currency heading into the 2025 Upfront - it announced five months ago that it would use the combined system as its local ratings currency in all markets from this month.

Services not yet accredited including the company's expanded National TV out-of-home measurement - being submitted for evaluation at the moment - and the Nielsen ONE package, which now includes outcomes capabilities in addition to advanced audiences, planning and measurement and which the firm says it will submit 'in the future'.

Web sites: www.nielsen.com and www.mediaratingcouncil.org .