Comcast Data Deal Strengthens Nielsen One

Nielsen has announced a multi-year renewal of its agreement to license Comcast's return path data for its de-duplicated audience measurement solution Nielsen One. The new deal also broadens usage to include local TV measurement across all the 94 media markets the two companies share.

Nielsen says the deal 'significantly enhances its ability to comprehensively measure audiences across platforms and devices', including enabling linear addressable measurement for its National TV service. The company's big data offering, which sits alongside its panels to provide the Nielsen One overview, will now tap information from nearly 45 million households, allowing more robust insights on viewing among fragmented and diverse audiences. Enhancements based on the expanded data set are due to arrive in 2024.

Analysts say the deal provides some reassurance for the ratings giant, its supporters and clients. Comcast subsidiary NBCUniversal has recently been prominent in a number of initiatives looking to develop new ad currencies independent of Nielsen, including the OpenAP / VAB joint industry committee (JIC) on cross-platform measurement and the offering of currency for local ad buying based on data from Comscore. Nielsen says today's announcement 'reinforces both companies' continued commitment to driving measurement innovation and delivering the most accurate measurement data in today's evolving media and marketing landscape'.

Karthik Rao (pictured), CEO of Audience Measurement at Nielsen, comments: 'We are delighted to extend our strategic partnership with Comcast allowing us to continue to embrace the power of big data for our services both locally across nearly 100 markets and nationally with addressable measurement. This agreement dually reinforces the importance big data plays in our work and Nielsen's deep commitment to delivering accurate measurement that helps our clients make informed decisions in an increasingly complex media landscape'.

According to Marcien Jenckes, Managing Director of Comcast Advertising, 'Measurement is one of the foremost, complex and dynamic topics in TV advertising today and in order to continue to move the needle forward on progress and change, we need to work together to address, reconcile and resolve current industry challenges on this front. Our announcement with Nielsen today is the latest proof point and step forward in that journey and we look forward to more continued momentum and innovation in the future'.

Web site: www.nielsen.com and www.comcastcorporation.com .