by Dave Zornow
CSP Magazine, December 2002
Cable salespeople: your research prayers have been answered. Nielsen’s double standard for reporting DMA broadcast and cable numbers is about to end.
Hallelujah. Well, maybe…
In the near future local cable will see a dramatic increase in the number of reported sources Nielsen provides through their local market reports. How dramatic? In Chicago, the 22 currently reported cable sources will more than double to 57 channels.
Nielsen is studying a proposal to change the “cume qualifier” used to decide which TV stations and cable networks are reported. Cable’s current criteria are much higher than broadcast’s resulting in fewer cable ratings reaching a buyer’s desk. In the daypart section of Nielsen local market report, broadcast stations must achieve a 9.5 weekly cume compared to a 19.5 threshold for cable. That means an average of about 10% of TV HHs have to watch a station at least once a week compared to almost 20% of all TV HHs viewing cable sources. The bar is set even higher in the time period and program sections of Nielsen’s ViP (viewers in profile) report: cable networks need a 49.5 cume rating to be reported compared to 9.5 for broadcast.
Jeff Sohinki, Nielsen senior vice president for local cable, has been working with the CAB’s COLCAM research committee on an initiative to lower the standard to a 2.5 cume rating for all sources. With the support and backing of Nielsen President & CEO Susan Whiting, Sohinki is now working internally to implement this new standard in the electronic version of Nielsen’s DMA report, the PDCD (published data CD). It’s expected to become a reality sometime in the next 18 months.
Sohinki, a veteran of the Greater Boston Interconnect, says agencies are ready for this change. “A buyer buys TV. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck and can be controlled by my remote control, why shouldn’t we report it?,“ he says. Sohinki’s won praise from cable researchers for including this group in the early decision-making process of evaluating product enhancements.
Although its still a ways off, cable researchers’ are chomping at the bit for the new data. "It's good for cable because all of the viewing that never showed up in local ViPs will now appear and local agencies can no longer assume there's simply no ad-supported cable viewing," says Jon Sims, VP Research at the CAB.
Salespeople will suddenly see numbers for national networks that they always knew had a strong story but were missing from the buyers’ books. Comcast’s Al Strada believes this is cable’s opportunity of a lifetime. “For 12 years I’ve have been fighting the inequity of being treated differently by Nielsen, says Strada. “The new ground rules will add more cable networks to the ViP allowing cable to sell with ratings for more than just ESPN, TBS, USA and TNT.”
It will be a glorious day when these data are released because there’s something in it for everyone. Including broadcasters and agency cable-doubters, too.
Broadcasters who have always claimed that cable’s rating pales in comparison to broadcast will have fuel for their fire. That’s because although the threshold has been changed, the methodology has not. Imprecise diaries will still be used to capture demo viewing (everywhere but Boston) and electronic measurement of TV HH viewing will only be used in the Top 50 markets Nielsen is also considering adding another feature favored by broadcasters: providing a separate total line for Wired Cable on the PDCD to distinguish viewing via DBS and other deliveries from local systems and interconnects.
But cable’s best boosters are undeterred. “I don't see a down side since the TV network audience keeps eroding,” says Strada. “Finally we will see which cable nets are wooing away broadcast audiences. We will take the good with the bad as long cable is being evaluated by the same ground rules as our TV over the air brethren.”
Gary Tijetjen, Director of Local Ad Sales and Marketing at the CAB, agrees. “The biggest complaint I hear is about a lack of numbers. Anything that gives local salespeople numbers is a step forward.” He adds that cable will have to continue to work to educate agencies about how to use the numbers.
Tiejen says cable needs these numbers, especially in small and medium sized markets. “In order for us to grow up, we desperately need Nielsen. We need to compete with broadcast on a market by market basis.” ##
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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