Nielsen & Scarborough To Offer Qualitative Service For Local TV Markets.

Nielsen Media Research and Scarborough Research announced a partnership to offer qualitative, multimedia information to local television stations in the U.S. Beginning January 2002, the Scarborough television sales and training divisions will become part of the local television business unit of Nielsen Media Research, called Nielsen Station Index (NSI).

By offering the multi-media and consumer measures of Scarborough along with the NSI ratings service, the currency of the local television industry, the two companies bring added value to the marketplace. This partnership will offer television stations a combined qualitative and quantitative analytical service provider with one-stop shopping and training for the station’s sales, marketing and promotional activity.

“At a time when television stations are searching for a more robust definition of the viewing audience, our two companies are offering complementary measures,” said John A. Dimling, chairman and chief executive officer of Nielsen Media Research. “By combining our services, we will be able to provide a more complete service that better meets the needs of the marketplace.”

“This partnership is a logical evolution of qualitative and quantitative measurements and integrates the expertise and value of both services,” said Bob Cohen, president of Scarborough Research. “Television stations are increasingly being asked to characterize their audience’s potential in terms of their advertiser’s customers. The partnership strengthens the bridge between media and marketers and sets the stage for more informed dialogue and decisions in the media and advertising community.”

Benefits and Opportunities:

The joint endeavor provides television stations with a multi-dimensional profile of their viewers with a single resource for the station’s sales and marketing objectives. The combined services bring added value to the television marketplace by offering stations the opportunity to compete much more effectively for advertising dollars.

For Nielsen Media Research, the addition of Scarborough expands its qualitative offering to more than 75 markets, and provides clients with a singular focus on a widely accepted qualitative service among stations and agencies.

For Scarborough, transitioning the television station sales-servicing effort to NSI enhances the opportunity to have stronger sales, service and training coverage, as well as growing the business and increasing revenues. The marketing strength of NSI will place Scarborough in front of more stations with greater frequency than Scarborough could do alone, thus enhancing the prospects of success for clients.