by Dave Zornow
Published in the Cynopsis:Weekender, 2/13/06
Two of the most discussed topics at industry panels during the last six months concern increasing media ROI. Nielsen’s new “Live” ratings filter out DVR playback viewing, zapping viewers who might be commercial zappers. “Engagement” attempts to identify programs where viewers will be more involved with the content. One subject concerns consumers paying more attention to TV and the other – at least as far as the commercials are concerned – less attention. But where the two issues meet, less might be more.
Engagement champions the idea that interested, attentive program viewers are more receptive to advertising messages. DVR doubters say TiVOed programs usually replay with commercials skipped and Nielsen’s “Live-Only” ratings are the only currency by which deals should be made. The irony is that DVR playback is the only ratings source where you can be sure that someone watched any spots (albeit at high speed with no sound); someone had to be operating the remote while fast forwarding though the commercial pod. Although Nielsen’s Live rating eliminates spot zappers, it doesn’t offer a guarantee that anyone was in the room or paying attention when the spot aired.
Enter engagement: multiple research measures designed to highlight programs where people are involved and committed to the content. Various metrics are used to define engagement, but certainly a viewer who takes the time to schedule a program to be recorded and subsequently views it should count as being engaged.
Unfortunately, this is EXACTLY the kind of behavior that will get a viewer kicked out of the ratings. Or at least the Live-Only ratings that many agencies are say they will accept.
As critics scream for Nielsen to be more representative, end users are making policies which guarantee that future ratings won’t include everyone. DVR owners tend to be younger and upscale – just the targets many advertisers want to reach. When the PVR phenomenon hits critical mass, looking at Live-Only will exclude this group. The DVR-have-nots dominating Live ratings will tend to be technology adverse, older, downscale households that may-or-may not be actually watching Live TV. And this helps improve TV ROI because…?##
Dave Zornow is President/TNG Research, a media research consultancy and applications development company that works with media sellers and research providers.
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