Editor’s Note: Written by Wayne Friedman, West Coast Editor of MediaPost.
For TV stations, there are renewed efforts to push for replacing the still standard Nielsen live-only program measure with a metric that includes some time-shifting viewing. The TVB (the TV station advertising group) and the 4As (American Association of Advertising Agencies) have issued an analysis on replacing live-only program measure with live program plus one day of time-shifted viewing (L1).
The 4As also says that “as national buyers migrate to C7 ratings [the average commercial ratings plus seven days of time-shifted viewing] from C3 to account for current TV consumption patterns, it should be noted that live plus one ratings at the local level tie closely to C7 ratings [on the national level] on an index basis.”
Nielsen has no commercial ratings for local TV stations.
A Nielsen rep added: “We support the TVB and 4A’s recommendations for enhanced data streams that go beyond live and same-day viewing, and better reflect the daily and time-shifted viewing habits of consumers.”
Friedman, W. (2018, January 15). TVB/4As Push For Local TV Station Time-Shifted Ratings. MediaPost.