Media Monitors TV & Cable Spot Tracking.

Media Monitors announces the addition of Broadcast TV and Local Cable to their roster of commercial monitoring services which currently includes radio and newspapers in major North American markets. The announcement is being made at the National Association of Broadcasters Convention in Las Vegas.

Adding broadcast television and local cable spot data from San Francisco, Boston, and Providence will enhance the company’s service to customers interested in additional local advertising data. Using patented technology, Media Monitors tracks radio spots in the top 50 markets and provides same-day data to its clients. The New York-based company also identifies print ads from major metropolitan newspapers in the top 30 markets.

Speaking today from Las Vegas at a press conference during the NAB Convention, Philippe Generali, President of Media Monitors says “The verification mandate of Media Monitors has grown from radio to newspaper and now broadcast TV and local cable spots. Media companies, ad agencies and advertisers are extremely interested in TV and Cable spot data and occurrences of commercials aired, so we are pleased to be adding this important service.”

TV & Cable spots added to radio spots and newspaper ads

“We’ve chosen Boston, Providence and San Francisco as the markets where we begin our rollout of TV and Cable spot monitoring,” Generali explains. “In addition to the 1,000 radio stations we monitor today,” he continues, “We track print ads in 100 newspapers nationwide. We expect to be tracking advertising in the top 75 to 100 markets by year’s end.”

Users of the new online service from Media Monitors will be able to see and hear the creative of each commercial aired and sort the data in a variety of ways.

“To maintain a competitive edge, all media want accurate advertising information from themselves and their competitors as soon as it’s available,” says Joe McCallion, Executive VP at Media Monitors. “By beginning our broadcast TV and local cable spot tracking services in three key markets we enhance our existing services with even more actionable data.”

Generali adds, “Current information is critical to our customers”, and references BIA research data by citing that “All ten of the top ten highest-billing radio stations in the USA are subscribing to our services and using our spot airplay data today.” Current radio group clients of Media Monitors include ABC, Bonneville, CBS Radio, Clear Channel, Cox, Cumulus, Emmis, Entravision, Susquehanna, Univision, Westwood One, as well as print and online publications owned by Hearst, The Washington Post and The New York Times Company. Media Researchers, rep firms and analysts in Media Monitors’ client roster include Interep, Jones MediaAmerica, Katz Media Group, Nielsen, VMS and Harris Nesbitt, among others.

Researchers, Advertisers and Agencies benefit from new technology

Natalie Swed Stone, US director of national radio investment for OMD says, “We use data from Media Monitors primarily to gauge competitive advertising trends in national radio in a very timely way, and to monitor station airplay for accountability purposes. As one of the largest and most innovative media communications specialists in the world, OMD’s opinion counts heavily.” Swed Stone continues, “Media Monitors is a good company to work with because their software is real-time, so the data is accurate and reliable.”

Jeff King, SVP/Managing Director at Nielsen Monitor-Plus comments, “For years, Media Monitors has been our preferred source of local radio advertising data. We’re excited about their ongoing expansion and station coverage, as it allows us to provide our clients with the media intelligence they need.”

“When radio, TV or newspapers run advertisements,” added Generali, “It’s important for media outlets, sponsors and interested parties to know precisely how ad dollars of an advertiser and their competitors are being spent.”