Nielsen Offers Clients Direct Access To Minute-by-Minute Ratings.

Nielsen Media Research announced that it is making available via an electronic file its entire database of ratings information from the National People Meter sample. This new weekly file provides clients direct access to all ratings information at the minute-by-minute level with commercial minutes identified.

The move by Nielsen is in response to media, advertising and agency clients who, faced with fragmented television audiences and hundred of channels, need greater access to more granular levels of persons’ viewing data to buy, sell, promote and analyze viewing information.

Through this new service, Nielsen is enabling subscribing clients – as well as authorized third-party processors of data, representing some 70 additional companies – to download this huge data file directly into their own software systems for their own analytical purposes. With the release of this file, clients now have additional options and much more flexibility in accessing this very granular data. Nielsen’s own software system (called NPOWER) will continue to provide clients with access to these minute-by-minute ratings.

“With this unprecedented move, Nielsen Media Research has responded to a marketplace need and fulfilled a commitment we made to our national clients,” said Susan D. Whiting, President and CEO of Nielsen Media Research. “As television distribution and programming choices become increasingly complex, there is an urgent need for detailed viewing information. Our goal is to offer our clients greater choice in the research tools they can use to buy, sell, evaluate, promote and analyze commercial television in the United States.”

“Marketing accountability is one of the top priorities for ANA members,” said Bob Liodice, President and CEO of the Association of National Advertisers. “This push to gain granular visibility and understanding of commercial vs. program ratings is critical for the accuracy of media measurement in the U.S. While advancements in video technology continue to challenge our industry’s ability to fully understand television viewing behavior, Nielsen has taken a significant step in the right direction.”

Data will be released weekly and began with the week of September 26, 2005, and includes the general market National People Meter sample and the National Hispanic People Meter sample.