Programs/Content
TV stations are getting more data, bigger audiences with end of Nielsen’s paper diaries
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A long-promised change in how Nielsen measures TV audiences in some markets brings benefits for public stations.
Programs/Content
Study to give public TV first granular look at local audiences
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TRAC Media Services is starting a deep dive into demographics, with findings that counter conventional wisdom.
Tech
Inconsistent Nielsen data vexes public radio stations and inspires a commercial solution
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A new audio processing device takes on a shortcoming of the Portable People Meter system.
Quick Takes
Nielsen will expand its definition of TV ratings by start of fall 2013 season
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The Nielsen Co., the stalwart television-ratings tracker, announced Feb. 20 that it plans to track viewing on additional devices beginning in September. The news was reported by the Hollywood Reporter. Among the media Nielsen will include are Xboxes and over-the-top devices that stream programming from services such as Amazon, according to the Reporter. In January, PBS signed a deal to bring some of its local and national programming to Xbox and over-the-top device Roku.
Quick Takes
Nielsen to buy Arbitron in $1.6 billion deal
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The landscape of the audience-ratings business began shifting with this morning’s announcement that Nielsen Holdings plans to buy Arbitron Inc. in a $1.62 billion all-cash deal. New York-based Nielsen will pay $48 per share under the sales agreement, a 26 percent premium from Maryland-based Arbitron’s closing price on Monday. The deal, announced Tuesday, is supported by the boards of both companies. Bloomberg News reports that the agreement will have to meet antitrust standards of the Federal Trade Commission before the sale can close. “I would expect to see some push back from local customers like local radio and TV operating groups,” Rich Tullo, an analyst at Albert Fried & Co.