NetRatings Expands Panel To Provide Media Quality Hispanic Internet Audience Measurement.

NetRatings, Inc. announced that it has reached an agreement with Univision Online, Inc. to build an industry media quality Internet audience measurement panel to better understand Hispanic consumer behavior online. The agreement between NetRatings and Univision will span a five-year period.

This agreement will result in a Hispanic Internet audience panel generated by industry accepted random digital dial (RDD) methodology. NetRatings will deploy its patented Internet measurement technology to a representative panel of 3,600 Hispanic individuals, providing unparalleled insight into Hispanic user behavior online. The Hispanic sample will be folded into the current Nielsen//NetRatings panel, reflecting a true representation of the entire U.S. Internet universe.

The Hispanic panel will provide the industry with a rich set of panel-based demographic information on Hispanic Internet users, providing vital intelligence for media buyers, planners, marketers and publishers targeting the fastest growing ethnic group online.

“We are excited to be setting the standard for the Hispanic Internet media market,” said William Pulver, president and CEO, NetRatings. “The support from Univision reinforces our belief that this market has great growth potential and that quality research is critical to their success. We look forward to expanding our industry currency position with other participants in the Hispanic online industry.”

“As the online Hispanic population grows, it’s critical to have media quality research on this group’s user behavior to qualify marketing and advertising opportunities. We see Nielsen//NetRatings’ Hispanic panel as a positive step in offering valuable insight into this market,” said Monica Gadsby, managing director, Tapestry. “As we’ve seen, this is an expanding industry and it will only continue to grow exponentially.”

“The Hispanic industry is always looking for reliable media research tools to support planning and buying decisions in interactive media ” said Roberto Ruiz, partner, Online Marketing, The Vidal Partnership. “Due to Nielsen//NetRatings’ high quality standards, the Hispanic panel will be a valuable tool for online Hispanic Internet audience information, and we look forward to what it can do for us in enhancing our knowledge of the Hispanic interactive consumer.”

“Univision continues to be a catalyst in developing credible measurement standards for Hispanic media usage,” said Ceril Shagrin, senior vice president of corporate research, Univision Communications Inc. “Reliable, projectable estimates of Internet use by Hispanics requires a sample which properly represents the Hispanic Internet universe. The more accurate Nielsen//NetRatings numbers will bring credibility to our selling process and enable our industry to flourish.”

“We are delighted to be working with Nielsen//NetRatings on developing an Hispanic panel that reflects true user behavior online,” said Javier Saralegui, president of Univision Online. “Since the days of our initial commissioning of Nielsen Media Research to establish a benchmark for U.S. Hispanic television ratings in 1992, Univision has been committed to the highest standards of media measurement. The online Hispanic market is growing aggressively, and as it matures, we need high quality media research on which to base our critical business decisions. Nielsen//NetRatings, with their reputation for methodological integrity, was the obvious choice of partner to fulfill the need for accurate measurement.”

The service is expected to launch in the fourth quarter of 2003.