Nielsen (NYSE:NLSN) and Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA)-owned FreeWheel plan to expand measurement to over-the-top (OTT) and set-top box video on demand (VOD) inventory. The joint effort is intended to enhance the value of the TV ecosystem through additional data-enabled, targetable premium digital video platforms for programmers, MVPDs, agencies and advertisers to effectively reach consumers. The announcement comes six months after Nielsen announced that it was integrating Comcast's non-personally identifiable TV viewing data with its panel data.
Nielsen will work with FreeWheel to expand measurement to OTT inventory and addressable set-top box VOD. The efforts are aimed at creating greater understanding of the total TV marketplace, allowing advertisers to take advantage of additional impressions, and expanding overall TV ecosystem market liquidity via FreeWheel Advertisers, Markets and Publishers divisions.
"Nielsen is committed to building measurement solutions that account for the entire television ecosystem, from linear and - in view of our plans with Comcast and FreeWheel - across over-the top and set-top box video on demand inventory," said Megan Clarken, global president of Watch at Nielsen. "This solution will be critical to further unlock the power of television, wherever and however a consumer is watching that content."
"The work Comcast and FreeWheel will be doing with Nielsen to make television, in all its forms, data-enabled, targetable and measurable is another step to unify TV as a platform," said Marcien Jenckes, president, advertising, Comcast Cable. "These efforts will add to the robust picture of viewership trends, further strengthening the currency used by the entire TV industry."