Heroic Retreat as Nielsen Responds to Client Concerns

Nielsen has stepped back from an experiment with combined ratings for shows airing twice. The new option, intended to pilot more flexible reporting to deal with new technology, gave NBC a single unduplicated rating for September's last Monday and Saturday showings of 'Heroes' but seems to have alarmed other subscribers.

The ratings giant announced in late August that henceforth clients could get a single rating for a program covering two distinct showings, where both program content and ads were exactly the same. The Saturday, September 29 and Monday, September 24 showings of cult show 'Heroes' were reported as a single program rating for the Monday, but as a result Nielsen says it 'received a significant amount of feedback from its clients in which concern was expressed regarding the consequences of this processing change.' The concerns centred around clients' wish to continue analysing separate ratings from each telecast and to ensure there is no ratings gap in any time period. If the new option were to be available, clients felt it should be available for all national media types.

For now, and with immediate effect, if a broadcast network re-airs the same episode, Nielsen will therefore revert to provision of separate ratings for the original and the repeat. However, the company says it wishes to continue exploring new reporting options to give clients increased flexibility in how ratings are produced - with timeshifted viewing very much in mind. Nielsen concludes: 'As we pursue new ideas we will ensure that any new option is additive and that it be available to all clients.'

Web site: www.nielsen.com.

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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