Nielsen Will Open Measurement to Media Companies’ First-Party Data, a Move That Could Prove Controversial

Nielsen will let the media outlets it tabulates add their own audience data to its ratings tabulation, a move that the measurement giant sees as an inevitable one in the age of streaming but that detractors suggest could give an unfair early advantage to established digital players such as Amazon.

The Media Rating Council, an independent body that sets standards for and monitors Nielsen and other ratings providers, on Thursday said it approved the use of first-party live streaming data into Nielsen’s national TV service, while renewing accreditation for Nielsen’s national panel measurement. The move gives Nielsen a new edge at a time when it has more competitors vying to keep tabs on video audiences across both traditional TV and streaming hubs.

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“We’re thrilled and humbled to earn first-party approval from the MRC. It’s a great affirmation of Nielsen’s ability to innovate at the speed of the market, while doing so in a safe and verified way,” said Nielsen CEO Karthik Rao, Nielsen’s CEO, in a statement. “With time-tested methodologies like our accredited persons panel and precise new solutions for the streaming era, we believe Nielsen is right where the industry needs us to be — at the convergence of all the ways people watch content. This will give the industry a true view of linear and streaming viewing like never before.”

Nielsen has campaigned for months to gain approval for use of the data. Amazon, for example, has been eager to gain credit for the crowds watching its “Thursday Night Football” that it believes Nielsen’s own methodology has not always been counting in full. Even the NFL has weighed in on the matter, saying it believes Nielsen’s technology has become outmoded over time as more viewers take to new devices and technologies to watch their favorite pieces of entertainment. “The big debate around all of this is how do you continue to enhance their traditional panel-based approach,” Paul Ballew, the NFL’s chief data and analytics officer, told Variety in August of last year. “We have advocated for the usage of first-party data, not just from Amazon but from everybody” who has rights to show football games.

Most executives agree that first-party data will have to tapped in order to capture the most accurate portrayal of how many people are watching a particular piece of content. While linear TV broadcasts can be monitored fully, views on streaming hubs take place behind a paywall, leaving the media owner as the only one that can measure all audience behavior.

Approval is likely to give some media companies an advantage over others. Fox Corp,. for example, has kept its most-watched sports off of its streaming properties. There is no stream on the company’s free Tubi service for the Sunday-afternoon NFL games that are broadcast on Fox. Likewise, companies with a smaller presence in streaming may not fare as well as those who have carved out more significant market share.

One person familiar with the approval process at MRC said that some members of its TV Committee that took part in vetting were not convinced Nielsen’s use of first-party data should be approved at this time.

Nielsen is under new pressure as media clients such as Paramount Global, Warner Bros. Discovery and NBCUniversal test new alliances with upstart measurement services such as VideoAmp, Comscore and iSpot. All three of these companies have gained traction in recent years with TV networks as well as some of the big media-buying agencies that purchase commercial inventory on behalf of big advertisers. Paramount in September said it was no longer using Nielsen data after coming to an impasse with the company on pricing for a contract renewal. CBS is now relying on VideoAmp for audience data

Advertisers might also have a take on the matter. For decades, big marketers have relied primarily on third-party data from Nielsen and others to judge the performance of the media outlets on which they buy commercial inventory. If Nielsen’s new methodology is widely accepted, Madison Avenue could be come even more dependent on its measurement services in era in which the best way to gauge audiences is still very much up for debate.